Prelude to a Redux
by nekilarose
Summary: Snippets of life before Mystic Fall Redux
1. Chapter 1

**-Eden**

"I don't really care where you put the boxes," Kai said to Jo as he shoved the door to his new apartment open with his shoulder, hefting a brown box into a more comfortable position in his arms. He pressed his back against the door to keep it open for her to come in with the parcels in her own arms, letting the door draw close as he moved to the living room. Dropping the two boxes down gently by the couch, he grinned while looking up at her.

Jo puffed out one of her cheeks as she surveyed the open space, folding her arms across her chest. "We can sort it all out later I guess."

Shrugging, he looked around at all the various boxes and bags scattered across the apartment. There wasn't much left to be moved into the place. All the heavier things like his new mattress and bed frames for the master and guest bedrooms were already taken care of last week. The apartment came pre-furnished with the main common area and kitchen furnishings. It was at least a weight off Kai's mind. He was planning on having those replaced once he was fully settled anyway.

Call it a quirk, but he hated the idea of not having a hundred percent control over his living space.

All the stuff his twin, Josette, was helping to bring in were just small things - suitcases of clothes, some linens, dishes, and a variety of other knick-knacks. Kai's stereo equipment was getting delivered later, as well as the desk that would be placed in the guest bedroom - serving as his "office space."

After finally getting a sizable amount of savings put away, Kai moved out of Portland to help his father with the restaurant expansion in Mystic Falls. Portland was bigger and, in a sense, their "main headquarters". But he'd had the long talk with his old man and knew where he was getting at. Plus, he figured that it was time to be around the rest of his family.

His dad offered to let Kai stay at the "family home" they had in Mystic Falls. He knew his dad didn't mind him staying there, but living the life of a bachelor was difficult when still under the roof of family. _Any_ family.

Besides, he knew it was time for him to get out on his own and to do his own thing and live his life like how he needed. Kai hadn't felt like his home in Portland was really home anymore now that the majority of his family was living all the way out on the East Coast now. His siblings had bugged him continuously that he didn't need to stay there in Portland - that he could just "start over" in Mystic Falls.

After much nagging, Kai finally relented. There was just no sense in mucking around at home.

"I'll start with these, then," Jo announced, to which Kai nodded, pulling out his phone.

"Cool. Well, I'm gonna order some pizzas then. Anything in particular you want on it?"

"Meat." She gave him a pointed look. "For every vegetable, fruit, and anchovy, I will kill you. I'll rub the grease on you and set you on fire."

After getting her answer with a roll of his eyes, he dialed the local pizza place and placed the order. As he hung up, Kai poked his head in the kitchen from the living room. "There's a couple of boxes outside I'm gonna get and then I'm returning the truck. I'll be back."

The last few boxes were some records and other little bits that he would fit into a memoir story someday.

"Better be quick. You leave me here to unpack your entire place and I'll make sure every woman you try to sleep with knows that you are a sexist pig."

Kai laughed as the door shut before her warning finished leaving her lips. It had long been discovered that Jo's bark was worse than her bite. Unlike him.

The trip to the local rental place wasn't long at all. It would only take him ten minutes to drive to the place. After the clerk and he exchanged pleasantries and said (jokingly) that he'd invite him over for a real house warming party later, Kai took a cab back to his neighborhood - making sure to appear near the rear section of the complex.

Pausing just outside the entrance, he pulled out a pack of smokes and popped one into his mouth. Just as he was about to light it, he stopped himself. _Hell no,_ he thought, shaking his head as he pushed the front gate to the building open and made his way to his place. _I'm not gonna have her chew my head off for not sharing.  
_  
Unlocking the door, Kai made his way inside and headed back into the kitchen where Jo had already gotten a good portion of the dishware put away. Immediately, she started on the importance of good dishware, pausing when he held up his pack of smokes, grinning. "Smoke break?"

He knew he didn't have to ask twice. They both hurried out the apartment, locking it quickly behind them. It took them no time at all to find a good place to sit and after handing her the pack and lighter, he lit his and savored a well-deserved drag. God, he needed to quit smoking.

"Even though you didn't have to, thanks again for helping me out with this, Sissy" Kai said, looking at her with a grin as a soft Spring breeze brushed against them. The air was so much different there than back in Portland. "It would've taken me all day to do this by myself."

It was amazing how the two of them could just let things go between them. Despite the circumstances they'd grown up in, Jo was always up for helping when she could - even with her crazy schedule. Her nights off on the weekends were few and far between and when she wasn't working, she was doing the whole "catching up on lost sleep" thing.

Sleep was precious. He didn't want to disturb her if he could help it - she was frightening in the mornings. Or, rather, her hair was pretty terrifying. Like a lion who'd gotten its claw stuck in an electrical outlet.

It had been a while since the two of them could enjoy a companionable silent moment together. Life had been so busy for the both of them after graduation and they were settling into their new careers. Every now and again when she was working, Kai would make a point to tease and fuss over her while at work - much to her annoyance, but she let him get away with it because they were siblings. Twins forever. Nothing would change that.

While it felt like they were estranged after he'd first started attending therapy and getting medicated, Kai knew his sister would never show how much she missed him on the outside. Not readily anyway. Especially not in the presence of their father. Both readily agreed that while they were easy to live with together, being away from home and then worrying their old man even more was the furthest thing from either of their agendas.

Had so much time really passed between them? Had things really gotten so distant so quickly? Even amidst all this comforting peace and tranquility, it could be shaken at any given moment. Snuffed out like nothing. Like their mother. Like their other sibling - ripped away from the world before they even had a chance to experience anything.

"Don't mention it, I know you need me." Kai snorted as he watched her put the cigarette to her lips, shaking his head as the moan of sweet pleasure laced with her trademark "Fuck" left her mouth. Lazily, she let her head rest on his knee. He let her fall easily against it, leaning back against the step as he pressed his elbows along the rough surface.

So many words passed between them. It was amazing. An eavesdropper would swear that the two of them hadn't taken any moments to breathe, puffing away on the cancer sticks like it was routine. But he knew that it was because his sister needed to get it all out - everything that she buried inside of her and Kai only listened because she was his twin. Some people needed to vent - to unload. Kai didn't quite understand these needs on a more than basic level, but he patiently processed her woes.

But in all senses, it really was routine for Jo. He knew this because she had said as much, that this reminded her of when they were still living back in Portland. When their mother was still alive. When their father wasn't working himself into an early grave. The two of them could simply just... _be_ \- hanging out and being themselves. The best times when they weren't wrestling each other to the ground were when they could share a casual smoke.

They both _really_ needed to quit. Soon. Jo reminded him that they were killing their lungs and Kai just laughed.

If there wasn't so much shit to unpack, Kai knew that Jo would've immediately told him to get into position, lower his body low enough so she could hop onto his back, piggy backing her all the way down the street as they talked and smoked without a care in the world. It didn't matter where they were, who they were with - this time was _their time_ and she'd sorely missed it. Somewhere he knew he probably had as well.

Jo had done a good job of evading his questions when he fired all of hers back at her. It was okay. She didn't feel like kissing and telling. Her standards were weird. But that was okay because, again, it was Jo. He could really forgive her anything. Well, except smashing his dishes or burning his underwear - the former he could count on not happening. The latter? Well... he'd save that discussion for a rainy day, which were frequent in Virginia over the spring and summer months.

That and, well, betrayal. He would never forgive her for something like that. Jo knew this too. It would be suicide on her part.

Before they'd even realized it, the pizza man had arrived and questioning if they had been the ones to order. Kai almost said something snarky but Jo beat him. "Pay the man, Kai."

Shaking his head as she patted it like he were a "good dog," he stood up and paid the man his money, giving him a tip for being so quick. As she started going back to the door, Kai jangled his keys at her. "Door's locked, genius," he said, to which she snatched the keys from him in that Josette-fashion of hers, making her way inside. He spoke to his new neighbors as they greeted him, asking if he needed any help. "Nah, got plenty of help on the inside. Thanks anyway."

Entering the apartment, Kai sighed when he realized he still had so much stuff to do. Why did unpacking feel like it was a never ending thing? Thankfully, Jo had agreed to take the whole week off to help him with whatever he needed. While he really could have done this all by himself if necessary, Kai liked these moments with her.

Jo kept him grounded in a weird sort of way. That way that could only be attributed to "that twin thing" that people often liked to chalk it up to.

Watching her re-enter the living room with two bottles of beer, he caught the one she tossed at him and popped the cap off easily. "You know, I think the pizza man was digging you." Kai snorted, covering his mouth to stop the beer from spilling out - blue eyes wide and practically smiling all on their own. "Probably could have gotten it for free if you gave it to him for free."

Kai gently smacked her thigh as they both fell onto the couch, shaking his head as he sipped more on his beer and laughed. "Yeah? I think he fancied that ass of yours as you hopped up the steps." He shrugged, leaning back as she opened up the box of pizza. "I paid for the thing, the least you could do was take care of the tip." Waggling his brows, he dodged an oncoming strike - laughing loudly as he tried to bat her away. When had she gotten her hands on the throw pillow?

Jo turned to him, giving Kai an annoyed expression. As if he'd forgotten something important. But that was impossible, he knew that. He could sense an oncoming tantrum brewing from her. "So when are we gonna take that road trip, Kai? We've been talking about it for years and have done dick about it. I'll even drive."

At her expression, he laughed, shaking his head as he held his hand up with the beer, three of his fingers spreading for her to hold on. "Just let me write my will first." He paused, mirth shining in his eyes. "Though if you're driving, you may wanna write yours out too. Your driving fucking sucks ass. We'll die together. Like Thelma and Louise."

They both laughed, sharing in the dark humor that was their lives. They may have been well off. Their family may have been a reputable lot back in Oregon. But it didn't change the fact that their life had sucked donkey dick and was just now getting back on track after being off the rails.

But hey, what can you do?

* * *

A/N: This is a joint project that I worked on with the amazing **StudioEden** (if you haven't read 'The Reset' or 'The Gamble' do yourself a favor, go read it. I'll wait while you do!) I had mentioned that I was interested in doing a few drabbles of OG Bonnie's life prior to her death, and she offered to help with the Kai parts. This is the result of that collaboration. It won't be as long as MFR but it will hit on a few key moments.

All the parts that were written by Eden will be marked at the beginning of the segment. Please, please if you like it enough to leave a review, make sure to let her know how much you love her writing (I cannot gush enough about it).

And go read The Reset and The Gamble!


	2. Shades of GreenFirst Brush

**A/N: Here is where we start alternating POV's.**

* * *

 **Shades of Green**

 **-Eden**

Snoring off a hangover, Kai hadn't even realized he'd been asleep. Not until the sound of his phone's ringtone roused him from a groggy state of affairs. His arms lifted his upper body slowly, his dark hair strewn about his head in a completely unflattering fashion. Clad in just his boxers, he gazed over his form lazily as he tried to grapple how he'd gotten into that state in the first place.

At least Kai was in his own bed.

The phone had stopped ringing. He was beginning to think it had all been a dream. Some whiskey-laced mirage of his own machination that he was more than happy to blissfully fall back into. And he would have done just that. Gladly, even.

The booming chorus of _Ultra_ by _KMFDM_ shook the hangover straight out of him. Kai snatched up the phone and answered, flipping onto his back as he draped his forearm over his eyes.

"Hello?" The hangover may have been gone, but the sleep was in full swing in his voice.

 _"_ _Kai! Wake up!"_ It was Liv and she was giggling and shouting. Or was it shouting and giggling? And since when did his younger, Edgelord sister giggle? _"Wakey wakey!"_

He didn't know whether to laugh or get angry. Kai chose neutrality, managing a small snicker. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"

 _"_ _Get your ass over here and take us home,_ _ **Big Bro**_ _,"_ she demanded. He could hear Luke snorting in the background.

Kai lifted his arm off his face so he could see what time it was. The digital red numbers said it was 2:45AM. Was that real? "The hell? What are you doing out this late?" He sat up on his elbows before settling his shoulders into the headboard. "Where the hell are you even _at_ , Liv?"

There was a mild struggle with the phone and Lucas managed to wrestle it from his twin. At least that's what Kai could only assume from all the noise on the other end. Confirmation was given when he heard Luke laughing into the receiver.

 _"_ _We're at The Falls. Back to School party."_

He slowly wiped a hand over his face. "Okay."

 _"_ _Been drinkin'."_

"I can tell."

 _"_ _So be a responsible adult and come pick up your drunk siblings. Unless you want us driving?"_

Clearly he didn't. "You know underage drinking is illegal, right?"

Luke shushed Kai viciously through the receiver. _"SHHH!_ _What happens in The Falls_ _ **stays**_ _in The Falls!"_

"I'll keep that in mind," Kai mused, throwing the covers back and swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. "Along with all the other shit I have to remember about this sleepy little town."

 _"_ _Don't you knock Mystic Falls! Mister I've-only-been-here-for-two-months-and-insist-on-being-a-hermit!"_

He barked a laugh. "You shut-up. I'm settling at my own pace, you little punk." Kai grabbed up his jeans that were hanging on the back of his chair, practically hopping into them.

 _"_ _Whatever."_ Kai could literally visualize his brother waving him off in dismissal. _"Just hurry up. I can only keep Liv on her feet for so long before she decides to sleep out here."_

"Are you both by yourselves?" he asked, propping the phone on his shoulder while slipping one of his arms through a sleeve of his hoodie.

Luke hummed. _"Nah, our friend Bonnie's with us. She didn't like the idea of us being out here by ourselves so she stuck around."_

Kai zipped up the hoodie's front, pausing as his brows furrowed. "So why didn't you just have _her_ drive you back?"

 _"'_ _Cause she's staying at our house tonight!"_ bellowed Liv, causing him to blink.

 _"_ _I already called my Grams to come get me, Liv. I told you that."_

His hand hovered over his keys on the dresser. That wasn't a familiar voice at all. But who was he kidding? Outside of his family, nobody's voices were really familiar. He was still "the new guy" around Mystic Falls. But this voice sounded pleasant, light but reprimanding. How long had she been suffering through his siblings' shenanigans?

Liv's low whine cut through his thoughts and he cleared his throat loudly, causing that same voice to make a soft noise in response.

"...am I on speaker?"

 _"_ _Yes,"_ Luke said lazily, _"because I was tired of holding the phone to my face."_

"Christ. Gimme fifteen minutes."

 _"_ _Kay! We'll be drinking in the meantime!"_ Liv shouted back before dissolving into another fit of giggles.

 _"_ _Liv, come on…"_ It was Bonnie's voice again. _"You've had enough. You'll make yourself sick…"_

 _Dear God._ He sighed. "No more drinking. I'll be there soon."

Both of his siblings gave a unison response that sounded more like a garbled mess spitting out of a Furby than actual words. Why couldn't they have called Jo? He heard Bonnie sighing on the other line before the call ended.

As he headed out the door, Kai could only hope that Bonnie was able to keep his siblings in line until he got there.

Kai couldn't help the slack-jawed expression that painted over his face. His siblings were a giggling, drunken mess - hanging onto his body like little spider monkeys. Normally this would have been both annoying and adorable. But he was distracted by a pair of eyes. _Completely_ distracted.

They were the brightest shade of green Kai had ever seen.

Thank God Bonnie was preoccupied fussing over Luke and Liv and not paying attention to him. Because he probably would have looked like a creep. He even _felt_ creepy as his eyes roved over Bonnie's figure. Her soft, caramel skin seemed to give off a faint glow from the full moon hanging over them - beams of light streaming from the canopy of trees.

Clad in skinny jeans and a loose fitted top, the fabric hugged all of her curves nicely - accentuating her exotic look as her hair fell around her shoulders and back. The fullness of her curls framed her face and despite her fussiness over his siblings, Kai couldn't stop himself from smiling as she, too, smiled at some off-handed comment his brother was mumbling.

How in the world had he missed _her_ in the two months he'd been there?

Kai managed to wrangle his siblings into the backseat of the car with Bonnie's help (there was no way he was dealing with either of them riding shotgun). They squealed and kicked up a fuss, causing both Bonnie and him to sigh in unison. Kai gave her a sidelong glance and she seemed to realize it as well. He then nervously rubbed his palms along the thighs of his jeans.

"Uh, thanks for sticking around."

She shook her head while brushing some of her hair behind her ear. "It's fine. They're in good hands now, right?"

He laughed, nodding. "Yeah, something like that." Kai paused as he met her gaze. They stood there silently for a while before he finally extended his hand out to her. "I'm Kai, by the way."

Bonnie took the offered hand, giving it a polite shake. Jesus, this was awkward. Who shook hands anymore? "Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins."

He let her hand go after a moment, the warmth she left behind lingering in his palm. "You gonna be alright by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. My grandmother should be here any second." No sooner had she said it, a soft honking sound came just down the road where an Oldsmobile had just pulled up and parked. Bonnie smiled and, again, Kai smiled right along with her. "And there she is."

Bonnie waved back to the car before she turned back to Kai's car and tapped on the window of the backseat to get Liv and Luke's attention. They gave happy, drunken waves and she laughed before looking back at him. Kai didn't think he'd ever get tired of looking at her.

"Drive safe," she said, cutting into his thoughts and he nodded slowly.

"Yeah, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Bonnie turned and started heading toward the car, putting further distance between him. Kai could only watch with mild amazement. Seriously. How had he _missed her_ in all this time? He needed to get out more.

Kai waited until the Oldsmobile pulled off and headed down the road before clambering into the driver's seat. He hadn't realized how quiet it was until his eyes lifted to the rearview mirror to see Liv and Luke passed out in the backseat. Shaking his head, Kai cranked up the car and started the drive back to the house. Hopefully he could sneak them back in before their dad got wind of how late they were out.

As the radio droned softly, Kai seemed to be on auto-pilot. He knew the route like the back of his hand despite only having been there for a couple of months. Barely aware of the soft snores from the back, Kai's thoughts returned to those shades of green that were Bonnie's eyes. Yeah, he most definitely wouldn't get bored with looking at them.

When his siblings were more sober, he'd have to do some needling. He wanted to know more about the girl named Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins.

Shaking his head, he took the exit that would get him to the house the fastest. For the first time since he'd gotten to Mystic Falls, he was actually okay with being away from the big city. Because in that sleepy little town was a mystery he was dying to solve.

The mystery of Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins.

* * *

 **First Brush**

 **-NR**

Bonnie wasn't really excited about attending this year's "Back to School" bash at the falls. Sure, they were going to be seniors, but they were still in high school, and Bonnie was desperately counting down the days until graduation.

 _It'll get better in college, it has to._ The mantra ran through her head on a constant repeat.

"Bonnie, come on let's go! We have to get the perfect spot. We're finally seniors!" Caroline called out as she flew by, arms loaded down by "necessities".

"As if she hasn't had a spot picked out for the last year." Kat said dryly as she followed the blonde whirlwind out the door.

"Last year? Last year, try the last three years." Elena countered, following her twin out the door as she slipped on a pair of aviators that obscured half her face.

"You're all dreaming if you think she waited until high school to plan for this." Bonnie chimed in, face scrunched up in concentration.

"BONNIE!" It was a shriek that carried across the yard, and into the house, but Bonnie ignored her.

"She sounds pissed, maybe you should leave."

Bonnie didn't even bother to address the voice coming from her left. One more turn….

"YES!" Bonnie jumped up and did a quick victory dance. "In your face, Baby Gilbert! Better luck next time." She hurriedly grabbed her bag and cleared the front door just as Caroline leaned on the horn.

"I'm done. Jesus Care, calm down. The Falls will still be there when we arrive." She slid inside the back seat next to Kat who shot Bonnie a wide grin. "You know you just made his entire week, right?" Bonnie paused as she was putting on her seatbelt, 'What, how?"

"Oh come on, you know Jer has a major crush on you!" Kat laughed. "Why do you think he kept offering to mow your dad's **and** your grandmother's lawn all summer?"

"I thought he was doing it for the money!" Bonnie was aghast, and a little embarrassed. Her eyes narrowed, her grams probably knew it too, and used his crush for very cheap lawn care. She'd have to have words with her grams when she came to pick her up later tonight.

"No big surprise you didn't pick up on it, it's not like you have a lot of experience with guys lusting after you." Elena remarked off-handedly from the passenger seat. Bonnie was a bit taken back by the careless words. She knew she wasn't a Bulgarian goddess like Kat and Elena, or a beautiful blonde like Caroline and Rebekah, but she liked to think she stood out in her own merit.

"Wow, that was a bit bitchy, sister dear. Did you want to try that again? Because I think you want to try that again." Kat rubbed Bonnie's arm soothingly.

Bonnie couldn't see her, but she knew from experience that Elena was rolling her eyes, "I wasn't trying to be mean, she knows that. I just meant out of all of us, she's the least experienced, that's all. It's not like it isn't true."

"Yeah that's even worse. Quit while you're ahead." Caroline snapped. Bonnie inched down in her seat. "Guys, chill. I know it wasn't meant to be mean." She didn't want to be the cause of any kind of bad blood, especially while Caroline was behind the wheel.

"See! Thank you Bonnie, you always have my back." Elena turned and beamed at her before turning back to pick at Caroline's driving.

"You shouldn't let her off the hook so much, Bon Bon." Kat said, closely watching her face. "I don't know what's been up her ass lately, but she's taking it out on you for no reason."

Bonnie waved her off, "She's probably just stressed. I know things with Stefan has been weird, what with his brother coming back into town and all. She'll settle down soon."

Kat groaned, "Oh yeah, him." She put special emphasis on the last word. "He is such an asshole, I don't even know how he and Stefan are related."

"He can't be that bad." Bonnie tried to reason with her, but her friend was having none of it. "He's a douche, I'd steer clear if I were you." At that she went back to her phone, and Bonnie spent the rest of the drive listening to Caroline and Elena bicker.

When they arrived at the falls, there was already a good sized crowd. Bonnie shrugged and smile widely as Caroline sent a vicious side eye her way. She started unloading the car as an apology to the other girl.

"Oh, there's Stefan." Elena took off her cover-up, leaving her in short shorts and a bikini top that would be more suited to her twin. She shook her long straight hair and put an extra sway in her hips as she walked to meet her boyfriend. Bonnie looked over to see Stefan exit a baby blue Camaro, even from here she could tell he was agitated. Elena ran the last few steps and threw herself at him.

Elena kissed Stefan like she hadn't just seen him a day ago. Bonnie started to turn away when she noticed the driver of the car was unabashedly watching the two. She couldn't tell what the look on his face was, but he didn't look too thrilled to have a front row seat to their very public display of affection.

"Ugh, so not classy." Caroline wrinkled her nose, "Well, I'm not waiting for her to help us unload. She'd better not bitch about the location we chose." Bonnie turned away from the couple who were still wrapped around each other, "Lead on, Care bear."

With Caroline leading the way, the girls eventually found what Caroline had decided was a prime spot. They met up with Rebekah and Matt, and proceeded to set up shop. Bonnie realized she had forgotten her bag, so she walked back to the car to retrieve it. She was locking the vehicle again when she felt herself get picked up and swung around.

"You need to eat more, lil bitty. I can toss you around without breaking a sweat." She scoffed from her position over Masons shoulder, spotting Tyler right behind him. "I should hope so, we don't need any weak ass firemen!" She tapped his back twice, their signal to let her down. He set her on the ground and ruffled her hair. "Stop that! I've told you about messing with my hair Lockwood." She tried to sound stern, but secretly she like it when Mason rough housed with her, it kinda felt like she had an older brother.

She hadn't been that close to Mason growing up, he'd always just been Tyler's cute, older uncle. But a year or so ago, he'd had an accident on the job, and something in him had changed.

Bonnie guessed it was the near death experience that did it. Whatever it was, Tyler was happier with his uncle around a lot more, and he seemed to have adopted Bonnie as an honorary niece/little sister.

He broke out in laughter, but it soon died when he spotted Elena and Stefan still standing next to the mystery man in the Camaro. Or actually, Stefan standing next to it, while Elena was leaning over to speak to the driver. Stefan was scanning the area, and he raised his hand in a wave when he saw Bonnie standing next to the Lockwoods. He said something to Elena, and walked over to say hi.

"I swear I'm adopted." He greeted the group, sweeping Bonnie up in a hug. Both Lockwoods gave him a nod of hello.

"Going that well, huh?" Bonnie asked sympathetically.

Stefan shook his head, "I don't even know why he's here. I mean, I know why, he's gonna be working at the family firm, but I don't know why he insists on inserting himself into my life. I can only deal with his bullshit in small doses, but he's always in my face!" He finished his rant. "God, that felt good to get out."

Tyler nodded, "Yep, kinda skeevy to be hanging around a high school party. I mean, you'd have to be pret-ty desperate." He dodged Mason's swing. "You're lucky my ass drew the short straw this year, I could call The Mayor to pick you up."

"Low blow." Tyler switched gears when he saw Luke and Liv down by the water. "There's my girl, thanks for the ride, Uncle Mason!" He called as he took off. Bonnie was watching Tyler make his way towards his girlfriend when she heard Stefan groan. "Incoming."

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" The voice was unfamiliar to Bonnie. She turned to meet the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. Matt had some very nice eyes, but even he had nothing on these. She saw Mason tense, and move closer to her side.

"Damon, why are you still here, you were supposed to just drop me off then leave." Stefan ignored his brother's question.

"Easy little brother, you forgot your phone. I was merely bringing it to you." Though he was addressing his brother, his eyes stayed on Bonnie.

Stefan frowned, "That's not my phone, and you know it. Bye now."

"Stefan, don't be rude!" Elena chastised, "He can stay if he wants."

"Nah, I'm not staying….unless someone asks me to." His gaze was still focused on Bonnie alone. She looked around, was he asking her to ask him to stay? Stefan looked extremely annoyed, verging on pissed off. Elena was looking back and forth between Damon and Bonnie with a frown on her face, while Mason...

Mason was standing stone still, drilling a hole in Damon's head. He'd also shifted his body to partially block Bonnie from Damon's roving eyes. Mason did not like this guy at all, and everyone could sense it. But none of that seemed to faze him. He took a step forward and offered his hand to Bonnie, "Damon Salvatore, older and better looking brother. And you are?"

"Oh that's just Bonnie." Elena jumped in to answer the question. Bonnie winced, she wasn't sure why, but that comment and dismissal of her existence hurt more than what she said in the car on the way over.

I'll show you 'just Bonnie' she thought to herself. She lifted her chin, threw her shoulders back, and flashed him a smile, "Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins." She said placing her hand in his. His hand engulfed hers and sent sparks shooting up her arm. "Pleasure to meet you." She threw in an extra bit of southern charm for his benefit. She may not be the most gorgeous girl around, but she knew how to lay it on when needed.

His thumb caressed the back of her hand, "Pleasure is all mine." He murmured. Bonnie felt her face heat up, is this what it felt like to be the center of someone's attention? His eyes stayed locked on hers, and she didn't dare blink unless this whole thing was a figment of her imagination.

"I'm Mason." His gruff voice broke her out of her trance. She withdrew her hand from his, taking notice of how he somehow seemed to caress her fingers as she pulled her hand back. Damon barely spared him a glance before returning his attention to Bonnie.

Mason tapped her back twice, and she turned to look his way, he gestured to where Tyler was standing at the base of one of the falls watching as Liv climbed. "Oh my god." She turned back to Damon, "Nice to meet you, hope to see you around." Grabbed Mason's hand and they both sprinted to the lakeside.

* * *

Turns out Tyler had no clue that his brash and outspoken girlfriend was terrified of heights. According to Luke, who had re-appeared to talk his sister down from where she was clinging to the rocks, Liv had been determined to jump so she had been pounding the shots to psych herself up. However once she started climbing, she made the mistake of looking down, and promptly lost her shit. Bonnie was glad Mason was still there, because he was the one who climbed up to get Liv, while Luke talked her through it. She vowed never to leave land again.

That was far from the only drama of the day. At last count three couples fought and broke up (well four, but they had made up by the end of the night, so Bonnie didn't count them) Mason took off shortly after his 'heroic' rescue of Liv. His initial reason for being there was not just to drop off his nephew, but also to make sure the bonfire that would be lit later on was safe.

The town had tried outright banning the back to school parties at the falls, but found that the kids would sneak off and have them anyway, so in a stroke of common sense, they'd agreed to just for one night let the kids have their fun. There would be extra cops on patrol around the falls, just in case people needed help and to catch anyone that thought they could get away with drinking and driving.

The fire department did their part by setting up the bonfire, and would stop in every now and then to make sure it was being tended to properly. The proposal was met with some grumbling by parents, of course, but in the years it had been in effect, there had been no drunk driving incidents, or fire mishaps.

They did almost had a catastrophe on their hands when the keg ran out, and it seemed as if nobody had thought to bring another. Rebekah saved the day on that one, she called one of her brothers (most likely Nik) and whined at him until he gave in and bought a few to tide them over.

Bonnie was getting a refill when she overheard a few people talking about some hot guy that just moved in one of the new apartments on 13th street.

"I heard he was living with someone?" One girl asked, swaying slightly.

"No, Bobby owns the truck rental place, and he told Bobby's cousin James that it was just his sister helping him move in, he's single." Bonnie recognized the voice as Tiki, gossip that she was, it didn't surprise her that she had all behind the scenes gossip. "Oh, but he also smokes. Danny delivered a pizza to him, and both he and his sister were outside smoking."

"Gross." Bonnie wasn't sure if it was the smoking comment or the copious amount of beer, but the first girl gagged. Bonnie got her drink and quickly moved on, sometimes she swore she was what her grams called an 'empath'. If she was anywhere near someone throwing up, she could count on herself doing the same, it was weird.

When night fell, the boys on the football team lit the bonfire with a victorious yell. 'It was pre-made for you jackasses, all you had to do was light the damn thing.' Bonnie thought. She was currently laying on an inflatable raft tied to a tree, gently bobbing up and down with the waves. She suddenly remembered the blue eyes of Stefan's brother.

No one had ever looked at her like that. No one. He had a gaze that would turn you inside out and fill you with warmth. She wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving ends of that look all the time. She'd seen it be given to all her friends at one time or the other, but nothing for her.

Nobody ever really looked at her, plain old Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins. She was the 'nice' one, the respectable one, the one who never rocked the boat. The girl who had been left behind by her mother and father, and lived off and on with her kooky grandmother who drank just a bit too much.

Didn't she deserve someone that would look at her like she was their world?

Didn't she deserve someone who wouldn't abandon her?

Didn't she deserve love?

Yes. The answer was a whisper on the wind. Bonnie decided she would at least try. She knew she was still a minor, and still in high school, but they could be friends, right? The rest of the night was spent looking out for her friends while mentally scheming of ways to cross paths with Stefan's enigmatic older brother.

* * *

The party was winding down, and honestly Bonnie had been ready to go hours ago. She'd already made plans for grams to pick her up, so she said her goodbyes to whoever was left and made her way to the clearing to wait for her grandmother.

She walked up just in time to hear Luke shush someone over the phone, "SHHH! What happens in the Falls stays in The Falls!" Bonnie laughed to herself, this should be good. Liv spotted her and bounced over excitedly, "You're staying at our place tonight right?" Bonnie shook her head, "No, I told you, I'm heading home with grams."

"Boo, you're no fun." Liv pouted. "I'll stay with you until your ride gets here, though." Bonnie bargained.

"Don't you knock Mystic Falls! Mister I've-only-been-here-for-two-months-and-insist-on-being-a-hermit!" She didn't think Luke was aware of how loud he was being. Luke evidently had had enough of holding the phone to his ear, so he put it on speaker and dropped down to sit next to the girls on the ground.

"Nah, our friend Bonnie is with us. She didn't like the idea of us being our here by ourselves, so she stuck around."

 _"_ _So why didn't you just have her drive you back?"_

"Who's he talking to?" Bonnie wondered. The voice was male, and he had the rough voice of someone who had just been woken up.

"It's just Kai." Liv said, half leaning over Bonnie to yell, "Cause she's staying at our house tonight!"

Bonnie sighed, this is why she never drank too much, "I already called my Grams to come get me, Liv. I told you that."

"But whyyyy." Liv whined.

 _"…_ _.am I on speaker?"_ The voice, Kai, came back.

"Yes, because I was tired of holding the phone to my face." Luke was reclined on his back blinking up at the night sky.

 _"_ _Christ. Gimme fifteen minutes."_ Bonnie could hear him moving around what she assumed was his place, probably getting dressed in the dark.

"Kay, we'll be drinking in the meantime!" Liv attempted to get up, presumably to find another drink. Bonnie grabbed her, "Liv, come on. You've had enough, you'll make yourself sick."

 _"_ _No more drinking. I'll be there soon."_

"Kay, thanks, bye!" Both said in perfect unison. Bonnie gave a little sigh before she ended the call. Great, now all she had to do was keep them occupied till he got here.

She managed to get them talking about stars and constellations, which busied their minds until she heard a car approach. It was unfamiliar to Bonnie, but when Liv saw it, she popped up and announced it was her brother.

'Thank God!' She stood and got the siblings to their feet. They managed to maneuver the twins into the backseat, with Luke talking the whole time. Bonnie smiled as she tried to make out what he was saying, but he was probably speaking in his and Liv's strange twin speak that they sometimes lapsed into.

They both let out a sigh of relief when both were inside the car. Bonnie turned to look at their older sibling. He was tall, pretty blue/grey eyes, it was kinda dark so she really couldn't tell. Dark hair that was mussed by sleep, and Bonnie once again felt bad that he was woken up to come and fetch Luke and Liv.

"Um, thanks for sticking around." He didn't sound as gruff as he did over the phone, his voice was nice though.

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, "It's fine. They're in good hands now, right?" He didn't seem like the type to rat them out to their father, but she wanted to make sure. He nodded, "Yeah, something like that." He held her gaze with his before holding out his hand, "I'm Kai, by the way." She shook his hand, and for the second time that day introduced herself "Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins."

His hands were nice, he had a good firm grip, but she was reminded of how her entire arm (and other parts of her) tingled when Damon shook her hand. _That settles it,_ she thought to herself, _I need to see if he was just flirting, or if he really wanted me to ask him to stay._ She really hoped it wasn't just in her head. She liked the way Damon made her feel, special, like she was the only girl worth talking to.

"You gonna be alright by yourself?" Kai's voice broke into her thoughts.

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. My grandmother should be here any second." Just then she heard the tell-tale honk of her grandmother's car. She smiled at Kai, who smile back, "And there she is." She noticed he had dimples as well. He was cute, she'd have to see if Caroline would be interested, or depending on his age, maybe even Jenna.

She waved to her grams before tapping on the window to rouse the two slumped inside, they both waved back drunkenly, and Bonnie couldn't hold back her laughter. She wished she had thought to record a little bit of them drunk off their asses. She turned back to see Kai already looking at her.

 _'_ _Poor guy_ ', she thought. _'He probably can't wait to get back home and go back to bed.'_

"Drive safe." She backed away from his car.

"Yeah, goodnight."

"Goodnight." With that she turned and headed to her grams' car. She got settled in and waited for her grams to start the interrogation. Instead, she kept her focus on the car ahead of them. "Who is that?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's Luke and Liv's brother, Kai. Luke called him to give them a ride. I feel so bad for him, poor guy was obviously asleep when he called." Her grandmother nodded but didn't say anything else, just put the car in drive and headed home.

* * *

 **N.R**

They arrived back at her grandmother's cottage, each woman lost in their own thoughts. Bonnie showered to get the smell of the lake and bonfire out of her hair, and went to the kitchen for some of her grandmother's special tea. Bonnie didn't know what was in it, but it was the best thing to have after a night of drinking to stave off a hangover.

She was standing by the sink when she thought to call and make sure the Parkers had made it home. Not that she was worried, but two people were a lot to handle on your own. She sent a text to Luke first.

 _-Make it home okay?_

 _-gunna sleeppbed._

Okay, that was kind of in English. She sent Liv two texts, but got no answer. She decided to brave the insanity and actually call Liv.

 _"_ _Hello?"_ Bonnie looked at her phone, that was not Liv's voice.

"Oh, I think I might have the wrong number?" She hadn't meant for it to come out as a question, but hearing a different voice than what she was expecting kind of threw her off.

 _"_ _Bonnie?"_ Okay, this was weird, he knew her name? "Huh? Who is-?"

 _"_ _It's Kai, Liv's brother?"_ And this is why Bonnie should not drink, who else would be answering Liv's phone?

"Oh, right! Hi. God, I was worried I'd called the wrong person by accident."

 _"_ _Is something the matter?"_

Bonnie nearly melted on the spot, he'd just met her and already he was inquiring about her well-being. That's it, she was calling Jenna tomorrow (or later today) and hooking them up. And then she'd introduce him to Mason, she'd have two adopted big brothers!

"Hmm? Oh, no! Nothing like that. I was just making sure you all got home alright. I texted Luke and he responded with a bunch of mashed keys, so I knew he was fine. I was more worried about Liv since she wasn't answering my messages."

She heard him chuckle, _"She was probably too busy groaning about a migraine."_

"Is she okay now?" Bonnie made a mental note to either find out what was in the tea, or get her grams to make a big batch of it to give to Liv, and Kai too, for being such an awesome sibling.

 _"_ _Yeah, she's good. They both are."_ It sounded like he had plopped down on a couch, _"So, how are you?"_

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. I didn't drink too much. It's not really my thing. But, thanks for asking."

 _"_ _Does everyone in Mystic Falls party like that? Or is it just you guys?"_

She saw her grandmother peek round the corner, point to the tea still in her cup, and mime drinking it. Bonnie huffed out a quiet laugh, "It can get a little wild sometimes, but it's not that bad. I think we're all excited since its senior year and everything."

 _"_ _I can get that."_

While there was a lull in the conversation, Bonnie took the opportunity to gulp down the last of the tea. She placed the cup in the sink, "Well anyway. I just wanted to make sure that you all were okay."

 _"_ _Thanks, Bonnie. You're a good friend."_

"Um, thanks, I think?" She laughed, the day and the tea making her sleepier by the second. "I should probably go thought."

 _"_ _Yeah, it is kinda late."_ She wondered if it was too early to start referring to him as big brother. Mason hadn't minded at all. She trudged up the stairs, "Goodnight."

"Night."

Bonnie tossed her phone on the dresser, she'd worry about charging it tomorrow. She snuggled into bed and fell asleep thinking about sky blue eyes.

* * *

 **-Eden**

Kai was no push over when it came to strength. He worked out regularly and liked to believe he could hold his own when it came to a real tussle (excluding his scrawny high school days; those didn't count). But wrestling with two very sleepy and _very drunk_ teenagers was a completely different story. He was already mentally planning how to blackmail Jo into being the one who took care of the next drunk sibling.

Luke and Liv snorted loudly as they collapsed onto the floor while Kai shut the door and locked it behind him. They were crawling on all fours, shushing each other, before falling into another snorting-laugh fit. Kai bit back a groan as he reached down to haul them up by the scruff and was leading them to their respective bedrooms. Good thing their dad's hearing wasn't what it used to be or they would all be getting an earful right about now.

While Luke had been proactive in removing his clothes and climbing into bed to pass out immediately, Liv had been less accommodating. Kai had to cover her mouth to stop her mid-shout about having a migraine. It wasn't until he made her promise to get changed that he, in exchange, would get her water and a couple of aspirin.

Even though he hadn't been to the house as often as he should, Kai could navigate through that kitchen with his eyes closed. Their father was a man of routine and old habits. No matter what house, he knew that Joshua Parker would always put things in certain places. It was fucking clockwork.

Seriously, Kai could have been blind and still been able to find everything.

He was back in Liv's room in less than five minutes, holding out the aspirin and water for her as she sat up sleepily in the bed. Once she drained the glass and handed it back to him, Kai was tucking his little sister in as her blonde curls fanned out across the pillow.

He turned to leave the room when Liv's cell phone started going off. Kai quickly zipped back across the room to answer, not even looking at the display to see who it was. It was already after three in the morning so they needed to have a damn good excuse for trying to rouse any of his siblings.

"Hello?"

 _"_ _Oh, uh...I think I might have the wrong number?"_

Kai recognized the voice immediately. "Bonnie?"

 _"_ _Huh? Who is-"_

"It's Kai, Liv's brother?" He glanced over his shoulder just as Liv mumbled something about him being too loud and to go away.

 _"_ _Oh, right! Hi. God, I was worried I'd called the wrong person by accident."_

Kai quickly dipped out of his sister's room and started making his way into the living room where it was quieter. "Is something the matter?"

There was a small pause before he heard a noise from her end. _"Hm? Oh, no! Nothing like that. I was just making sure that you all got home alright. I texted Luke earlier and he responded with a bunch of mashed keys so I knew he was fine. I was more worried about Liv since she wasn't answering my messages."_

He chuckled and rolled his eyes as he sank into one of the reclining chairs. "She was probably too busy groaning about a migraine."

 _"_ _Is she okay now?"_

"Yeah, she's good. They both are." Kai paused, sinking into the chair a bit more while brushing his fingers through his hair. "So, how are you?" He hoped he didn't sound like an idiot. Kai cleared his throat for added measure.

 _"_ _Me? Oh, I'm fine. I didn't drink that much. It's not really my thing. But, uh, thank you for asking."_

"Does everyone in Mystic Falls party like that?" He grinned, unable to hide the smile in his voice. "Or is it just you guys?"

There was a soft laugh on the other line, as if she were trying to keep quiet. _"It can get a little wild sometimes, but it's not that bad. I think we're all just excited since it's senior year and everything."_

He hummed and nodded like an idiot because seriously, who could see him? "I can get that."

Because he did. High school hadn't been that different for him and Jo either. He remembered the summer house parties back in Portland, as well as the various beach parties that involved copious amounts of alcohol.

Not that they ever got _away_ with being that drunk, though…

 _"_ _Well anyway,"_ Bonnie's voice cut into his thoughts. He sat up just a bit in the recliner. _"I just wanted to make sure that you all were okay…"_

"Thanks Bonnie," he said, leaning forward a bit. "You're a good friend."

 _"_ _Um, thanks, I think?"_ She laughed and Kai already knew that he probably would never get tired of hearing that sound. _"I should probably go though."_

"Yeah, it _is_ kinda late."

 _"_ _Goodnight."_

"Night."

When the call ended, Kai felt himself leaning forward so that he could rest his elbows on his knees - the phone cradled in between his palms. What was a nice girl like that doing hanging around his rowdy ass siblings? Well, it didn't matter. He'd definitely have to get the details from Luke and Liv later when he got the chance.

Opting to just crash on the couch, he settled under one of the goose downs and rested his palms behind his head. He replayed the whole encounter in his mind, recalling Bonnie's eyes and just her overall presence. Kai most likely had a stupid grin on his face but he didn't care.

Mystic Falls didn't seem so bad after all.


	3. What are the Odds How Do I Breathe?

**A/N: This is all Eden. I decided to let this stand on it's own because I absolutely adore how she writes for Kai, especially when he's interacting with Grams.**

* * *

 **-Eden**

It took everything that Kai had not to burst into a complete laughing fit as both Luke and Liv sat on either side of him, nursing bowls of cereal in an attempt to keep their eyes from meeting their father's. Joshua Parker was a stern and disciplined man, especially in his kitchen. And while he trusted his kids to be adults about ninety percent of the time, he knew that they were bound to be a little reckless for the other ten percent.

But Joshua Parker was no fool. Kai hid his smile behind the mug of coffee he was drinking and he had to bite back a snort from being gently ribbed by Liv's elbow. Their father cleared his throat loudly, slapping the newspaper open and peeking over the edge of it as he saw the younger twins jump slightly.

"I wasn't expecting to see you so early in the morning, Son," gruffed Joshua.

Kai shrugged and rubbed the back of his head as he set the coffee cup down. "Well, I know you said you wanted to head to the market early. Figured I'd just let myself in and catch a quick wink."

Joshua scrutinized him before his eyes lowered to the newspaper. "You kids weren't out all night, were you?"

"No!" said Liv and Luke in unison, earning a quiet snicker from Kai. Liv tried to kick him under the table and he simply shifted his legs to the side to avoid the blow.

Their father hummed in appraisal before folding up the paper. He tossed a pocket-sized notebook to Kai and he caught it expertly in his right hand. Using his finger and thumb, he flipped through the pages and took note of his father's scribbles. Kai looked at his father, confusion setting in his brow. "You're not coming?"

"Can't," Joshua said while standing. "We're down a hand and you're the only one I can trust to pick out the freshest ingredients." Kai stood slowly, unable to stop the proud smile starting to form. "You know how to get there, right?"

Kai shook his head before reaching out to pat Luke and Liv on the tops of their heads. "GPS is a thing, Dad. I got this."

Joshua tossed him a set of keys. "Take the truck." Kai watched his dad snag _his_ keys off the kitchen counter. He opened his mouth to protest but Joshua was already heading out the door. "Dinner prep's at 5:30. Don't be late."

And then he was gone. Kai waited until he heard _his car's_ engine fading off in the distance before giving a pointed look to his younger siblings. They both visibly relaxed, sighing their relief in unison. He leaned over to rest his palms on the table, eyes darting between the two of them.

"Well?" He paused as they raised their brows. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"That you're the best brother in the world for not ratting us out?" queried Luke innocently. Liv nodded.

He scoffed, straightening up to fold his arms across his chest. "You owe me."

Liv frowned. "Already?"

He grinned. "Yes. Already."

Liv groaned, sprawling her upper body across the table. Luke moved her bowl out of the way so she didn't knock it over. "What do you want from us?"

"Nothing." Apparently he'd answered too quickly because they were both looking at him as if he'd granted them salvation. He almost hated to burst their bubble. Well, almost. "Just some information."

"I knew it," Luke replied dryly. "What do you want to know?"

Kai slid into the chair their father had previously occupied. "Tell me about your friend, Bonnie."

Both Luke and Liv looked at each other, then to Kai, then back to each other. However, it was Liv who finally spoke up as Luke dipped his spoon into his bowl to resume eating again. "Why?" Kai didn't miss the quirk of her brow.

He shrugged, trying to play it off as he leaned back. "I'm just curious." Liv didn't look like she was buying it. "She seems nice and was really worried about you two. I just want to know more about the person who took up burdening herself with your drunken antics."

"Hey!" Both of them looked gravely offended. This only made him laugh at their expense.

"I'm just saying."

"We've heard the stories from Jo," clipped Luke between chews. "You weren't exactly a saint."

"I'm still not, but hey, what's that matter, right?" He leaned in and smirked. "I'm just the good boy that never got caught."

Liv rolled her eyes. "You are the worst." Suddenly, a devious grin played on her features. "You know Bonnie is a _high schooler_ , right? Same as us?" She pointed to Luke and herself. "As in she's younger than you?"

Kai frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"I dunno," she said with a shrug. "What are _you_ trying to say?"

"I'll get you all the info you want." Both Liv and Kai looked at Luke who had just taken the last bite of his cereal.

"Lucas!" Liv looked both confused and outraged. Just who was Bonnie that even his edgy sister felt the need to be so protective?

"What? It's a small town. Not like he couldn't dig up the information himself eventually." There was a glint in Kai's eye that gave him flashbacks to when they were younger. He knew that look. He knew that look _too well_. "I'll save you the leg work."

Kai narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Alright, you little punk. What do you want?"

Luke held up three fingers. "Three passes." Liv blinked, confused, but Kai spied the sudden understanding that blossomed over her features. "It _is_ our senior year. We're gonna need you to cover for us again, no doubt. Oh, and last night doesn't count."

He sputtered a laugh, blinking wide-eyed at his younger brother. _That little brat._ Kai had to give it to his younger brother. He knew how to turn a situation around in his favor. "Fine. Get me my intel and I'll decide if what you've got is good enough to cover your asses three more times."

Liv and Luke high-fived each other before they hopped up to take their bowls into the kitchen to clean them. Kai grabbed up the keys to his father's truck and started heading out the door. He pulled out his phone and quickly texted his own twin.

 _-If you've been giving them tips, Jo, you're in big trouble._

* * *

Just because Kai had the company credit card didn't mean that he wasn't going to haggle for a good deal. He wanted quality produce and meats and he needed to know what the producers were like in Mystic Falls. Especially since it was made pretty clear that his father was grooming him to take over the business in the area. And if he could make great connections with the producers, then the business would thrive.

His dad didn't make him bust his ass in school for nothing.

After an hour of perusing the entire marketplace, Kai got everything on his dad's list and he did it without having to issue a single name drop. Sure, he could have taken the easy way out and just said he was Joshua Parker's son. But then where was the fun in that? There was no growth.

He even managed to convince a few of them to make personal deliveries to the restaurant. Kai had his dad's truck, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he just wanted to drive his car to work. Could he blame him? Kai bought the car and did all the body work himself, as well as tuning up all the guts inside. He wouldn't hold it against his old man for wanting to live a little.

Just as Kai was getting ready to head back to the truck, he heard a conflict bubbling up just a few feet away from him. Turning to glance over his shoulder, he saw an older black woman fussing with one of the local butchers. There were three, but there was one that his father did business with. Judging by the way the altercation was progressing, Kai had a pretty good idea as to why that was.

"It's every week with you, I swear!"

"It wouldn't have to be if you'd stop trying to pull one over on me, Rogers," spat the older black woman. She rested a hand on her hip while shoving the plastic bag in the other man's face. "You call this a prime cut of meat? I paid good money for a cut of fat!"

Kai and a small group of others paused in their shopping. The rest just kept shopping like nothing was wrong. Apparently this wasn't a new development. A few even chuckled among themselves. He smirked as he shoved a hand into his pocket.

"Your eyesight is going, woman!"

" _Your eyesight_ is gonna go in five seconds if you don't quit trying to highway rob me!"

"Dammit, Sheila! Stop trying to sabotage my business!"

"Give me my meat, Jonathan!"

Kai couldn't take much more of this. Without missing a beat, he sidled up next to the older woman and gently prodded the bag from her fingers. Both the butcher and the woman eyed him - their offense clearly written on their faces. He, however, ignored them so he could peek into the bag.

The woman wasn't lying. It definitely was mostly fat.

"You know, in a small town like this it's pretty important to show some appreciation to your regulars. Otherwise, you'll lose business." Kai held the bag out to the butcher. "So if you want this nice lady to keep you in her good graces, I would suggest either cutting her the prime hunk of meat you promised or give her a refund."

"Who in the hell do you think-"

"I'm the Sous Chef for Vera's," said Kai easily. "You know the place, right? I'm sure you do. In fact, I'm almost positive you've tried to secure a goods contract with the Head Chef, Joshua Parker." Jonathan immediately shut his mouth, his lips forming into a thin line as Kai fished out his wallet and handed him a business card. Jonathan's eyes went wide when he saw Kai's name and title but he shrugged and gave a wink instead. "Adjust your business attitude a little bit and I'll see about dropping your name a few times when talk of contract renewal comes around."

When Kai turned to look at the older woman, he saw her eyeing him suspiciously. But he cranked up the charm and waited for Jonathan to hand her her money back. Sheila wasn't about to fall for it though.

"While I appreciate the help, young man, I can handle my own business."

He smiled. "Oh, I have no doubt. But I just couldn't stand by and let a damsel stay in distress."

"Boy, if you don't-"

"Prime rib, right? If you'd like, I can just give you what I purchased and you can pay me for it?" Her eyes narrowed but Kai kept his smile in place "I'll just order another cut to have sent to the restaurant."

Sheila's bags were strewn about her feet and she put her hands on her hips, giving him the once over, before her nostrils flared. "Well, you gonna offer to help carry my groceries home too?"

"If you want?" He gestured to the makeshift parking lot. "I can even give the lady a ride home."

There was a long spell of silence between them. While most would have found it uncomfortable, Kai ate it up. The attention was slowly dissolving around them, which was fine. He didn't do it to put on a show.

Finally, she sighed. "Well come on then, boy." She gestured for him to follow and Kai immediately leaned over to pick up all of her bags. "Let's see what you're all about."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Kai couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed this hard in twenty minutes. The ride should have only taken ten, but he was constantly having to slow down because Sheila was making him laugh to the point where he was squinting. Not on purpose, either. It was just some of the off-handed comments she would give as well as her own miniature form of road rage ("Look at this fool, drivin' like he ain't never been behind the wheel a day in his life. Get off the road, you slag!").

She asked all the pertinent questions, of course. Where was he from? Why did he decide to get into the restaurant business? Why did Joshua Parker always look like someone had spit in his cereal (This comment nearly had Kai running off the road, to which Sheila quickly chastised him about _his_ driving)?

In turn, Kai did his own form of casual interrogation. Asked all the questions he needed to know mostly about Mystic Falls (even where all the churches were and she stressed that he should attend her own church sometime). Maybe it was the whole small town aspect, but it was refreshing to be so openly invited and even spoken to like he was already a regular resident of the area. There were things he missed about the bigger city, of course. But Mystic Falls was starting to grow on him more and more.

And then there was still that little mystery to solve.

He pulled up along the curb of Sheila's cottage home. It definitely looked like the kind of house this fiery older woman would have. Kai was a gentleman and opened her door for her, helping her out of the passenger seat. She seemed to approve.

"Well, Malachai, it's been a pleasure. I think I got it from here."

"You're sure?" he asked, casually flipping his wrist over to look at the time. He had about forty-five minutes to spare before he needed to head to the restaurant for dinner prep.

"Mmhm," she said, lifting a few of the bags into her arms. "My granddaughter is here so she can help me with the rest."

He was getting ready to bid his farewells until the front door opened and a person poked their head outside. Kai dropped his keys when he saw who it was. Even from that distance, her green eyes were hard to miss.

"Need help, Grams?"

Kai wasted no time scooping the bags from Sheila's arms, along with the others she hadn't gotten to yet (and keys because, yeah). Sheila eyed him curiously and Bonnie was already halfway across the yard before she stopped short upon seeing him. He tried to look less surprised but he was almost sure that it wasn't coming off that way.

"Kai?" Bonnie tilted her head slightly before looking between both him and Sheila. "What are you doing here?"

"I ran into your grandmother at the market. I mean, I didn't _know_ it was your grandmother but, yeah, just decided to help her with her groceries and stuff." God, was that the best he could come up with? _And stuff? Really, Kai?_

"Yes, such a gentleman," chimed Sheila while folding her arms across her chest. "Butcher tried to pull a fast one on your dear old grandma."

"Was it Mr. Rogers again?" Bonnie sighed while shaking her head. "I swear, he is always trying something with you."

"Beautiful day in the neighborhood my ass," she said as they began walking toward the cottage. "He thinks he's slick, but I'd lay that man out, let me tell you."

Kai couldn't stop the laughter that spilled out of him even if he'd wanted to. Seriously, who was this woman? He watched Bonnie loop her arm through Sheila's as they made their way up the small set of stairs, Kai hot on their heels.

"I think he has a crush on you." Bonnie offered, causing Sheila to stop short in the entryway. Kai paused, closing the door behind him with a soft _click_.

"Girl, you better get outta here with that talk," the older woman said with a laugh, causing Bonnie to wriggle away from Sheila's hands that looked on the verge of tickling her. Again, he couldn't stop the smile from spreading over his face even if he wanted to. The older woman looked over her shoulder at him and gestured to the first open entryway to the left. "Kitchen's over there, young man. Go on."

Rustling the bags, he gave a two-fingered salute. "Yes ma'am!" He brushed past the two women and entered the kitchen, feeling the homey vibe it gave almost instantly.

He set the bags on the counter and began unloading all of the groceries - putting away all the produce and meats first. It was a small kitchen so it wasn't hard for him to navigate through. Kai was used to being able to deduce what went where and how a person liked to have their things organized based on how their kitchen was set up. Call it a perk of having worked in a variety of kitchens in his life.

By the time he finished up (as well as putting away the dishes that had been sitting in the dish rack), Kai was about to announce that he needed to go. But when he poked his head into the hallway, no one was around. It felt a little weird creeping around in another person's home - him being a stranger and all. Yet he also knew that it would have been even _more rude_ to leave without so much as a "goodbye".

The warmth that exuded from Sheila's home gave way to memories for Kai. Of a home back in Portland when his mother was still alive - before the jaws of death had ripped her from this world. Not to say that his home was any less loving, because it wasn't. But it lacked an older woman's comforting embrace. The sort of feeling that permeated throughout every crevice of the cottage's walls.

The cute bathrooms, the dining area (which had him thinking about the intimate breakfast nook that was nestled in the corner of the kitchen), as well as the vintage paintings and odd things littered throughout the living room. Even the worn bookshelf situated against the back wall where a "reading area" was designated had been welcoming. Kai couldn't help but wonder how many times Bonnie had fallen asleep reading by the fireplace growing up. She looked like the type who enjoyed the feel of a good, weathered book between her elegant fingers.

Meandering through the rest of the house, Kai found a backdoor and poked his head through the window. He saw Sheila and Bonnie nestled down in the dirt, tending to the older woman's garden. Kai quietly opened the door, stepping out onto the back porch and felt his heart jump into his throat.

Bonnie was tending to the irises - their deep purple petals caressing along her cheeks as she took a moment to wipe the stem and leaves clean. She brushed the back of her wrist across her nose, leaving a smudge of dirt in its wake. Her smile was wide, free and honest. Kai knew that he liked her smile, but this? This was something else entirely. It wasn't guarded, curious or even puzzled. It was sincere and Kai had to wonder if she smiled like this often or if this was a side of her that she didn't allow anyone else to see.

Could he be one of the few who had seen her this way?

"Finished already?"

Kai blinked rapidly, Sheila's voice tearing through his mind and jerking him out of the stupor that Bonnie's smile had put him in. When he refocused, that genuine smile was gone and replaced with a curious expression. He hadn't even realized his mouth had been open slightly until Sheila cleared her throat. Kai scratched the back of his head and laughed, coughing at the tail end of it.

"Yeah, I'm finished. Just wanted to let you ladies know before I head out."

Bonnie and Sheila both stood, dusting off the dirt from their hands as they made their way to him. Sheila regarded him curiously and Bonnie smiled - a softer, less honest version of the one he'd seen just seconds prior.

"Well, I certainly appreciate it, Malachai." Kai wasn't used to people other than family calling him by his given name, but coming from Sheila it felt normal so he didn't mind. "Are you free for dinner, by chance?" The woman rested a hand on the flare of her hip. "I feel like I owe you a meal for all your help today."

Mentally he groaned. Dammit. Why did work have to be a thing? Sighing, he shook his head. "Sorry, I can't. I actually have to be heading back to the restaurant soon." He eyed his watch. Yup. Fifteen minutes, exactly. He flashed a smile to the older woman. "Can I take a rain check?"

She laughed. "Sure."

Kai shook his head before turning to Bonnie. "Nice to see you again, Bonnie. I'll catch you later."

Bonnie blinked, as if she'd been knocked out of her own headspace. "Oh, yeah," she said, nodding. "For sure."

He turned, holding his arm out in farewell. "See ya!"

And before he was further entranced by those seas of green, Kai bolted back into the house, sped through the length of it, and all but jumped out the front door. His heart hammered against his chest like a war drum and he quickly climbed into the truck, his hand moving to his chest in an almost vain attempt to calm his erratic heartbeat.

 _This is crazy!_

He was acting like some lovesick high schooler! No. This wasn't cool. Not cool at all. Kai needed to get his head together and quick. Because if his body inflamed and his brain turned to porridge every time he saw Bonnie, then he wasn't going to make it.

They'd have to bury him because he would have stroked out.

* * *

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. It wasn't long before word got around that Malachai Parker was Joshua Parker's son - oldest son of the Parker family. Adjusting to life in Mystic Falls had been a bit of a breeze and others in his own age group liked to poke at him about being a "city boy". He was a fish out of water, to be sure, but he didn't mind.

Kai was already mentally filing away people on certain lists as he met them. It was his way of assessing just what kind of situation he was putting himself in, as well as the people who Bonnie tended to orbit around. He didn't necessarily care about making friends with them, but it certainly helped if he got along with them when she was around.

Caroline was an immediate favorite - her energy always threatening to bubble over like a freshly popped cork of champagne. Rebekah and Matt were the ones always cheering their friends on in whatever mess they decided to get themselves into. Tyler was keenly on Kai's radar, mostly because he was dating his baby sister and he had to throw his weight around. Mason made the transition easy and the townspeople in Mystic Falls hailed them as the Fireman and the Chef - the oddest bromance to have ever formed.

While Kai took an instant liking to Katherine, he didn't much care for her twin, Elena. Most would think that having a twin would make a person relatable, but Katherine was much more honest and down to earth. Kai especially didn't like the way that Elena was always so clippy with Bonnie. Like she'd been the one to take a shit in the Gilbert girl's cereal. The same circle of friends noticed this, but silenced Elena when they could or reminded her of her attitude and to get it straight.

Jeremy promptly became a rival, at least initially. The rumor mill was relentless in small towns so the hint that Kai had a crush on Bonnie was like a declaration of war on Little Gilbert. Yet when they crossed paths, Kai couldn't help feeling brotherly affection toward Jeremy. He was still a kid in his own right, trying to figure out who he was. Once the initial puffing of chests had concluded, Kai earned Jeremy's respect by beating him _soundly_ in Mario Kart (the dreaded Rainbow Road, to be exact). They were becoming friends pretty fast.

Then there were the Salvatores. Stefan was a good guy and could build a mean card mansion. The two of them had challenged each other to a card castle competition at The Grill one Saturday night for shits and giggles. There hadn't been a clear winner and the decision was postponed thanks to his brother, Luke, sneezing both monuments over due to his hay fever. They'd all laughed, promising to pick up the challenge again. Yeah, he liked Stefan and Kai personally thought he deserved better than Elena. Her doe eyes always seemed to wander toward the darker, mysterious bad boy of an older brother.

Damon Salvatore. Others seemed to fawn over him (at least those without any sense did) and Kai couldn't really understand why. Sure, he wasn't some altar boy himself, but Kai at least liked to believe that he didn't have anything to prove. Damon seemed to always act like he had to validate his existence somehow.

Kai didn't like him at all. Coupled with the fact that Bonnie's eyes seemed to take on a haze of stars when he was around and that made his distaste for him grow that much more. She was changing, little by little, but had remained wholly herself (thank God) despite her ever budding curiosity over Damon's interest in her.

Sheila Bennett was his absolute favorite person in Mystic Falls - ranking right up there with Bonnie herself. There were days when they swapped the number one spot, but ultimately, Kai could never get enough of the older woman. She made him laugh until he felt his sides screaming in agony with the stories she would tell, how she would fuss over Bonnie and made a constant poke at Kai to keep an eye on her "beloved granddaughter". Had he been dubbed the honorary big brother? He hoped not. Guardian, maybe. But not that. Kai had enough siblings.

When Kai wasn't working out, helping his dad out at the restaurant, keeping his younger siblings out of trouble, or checking in on Jo to make sure she took breaks, he was _always_ at Sheila Bennett's house. He would help out where he could, whether he was asked to or not. Just menial chores: mending the roof, cutting the yard, sweeping the porch, fixing the plumbing, and hefting things from the attic or from the basement. Kai never cared because he was going to have praise and a hot meal waiting for him when he finished. Always. Bonnie being around was the added bonus and there were jokes often thrown about how he was attempting to steal her grandmother from her.

Kai would let Bonnie wreck him in UNO as penance.

Before long, it was Thanksgiving (Kai's absolute favorite holiday) and he was very adamant about having Bonnie and Sheila over for a traditional, Parker Family Thanksgiving. Joshua had heard much about Sheila, but had never really interacted with her personally until that day. Needless to say, the two older ones hit it off immediately - Sheila fussing over the state of Joshua's hearing ("Huh, what was that you said, Sheila?") and how he needed to take better care of himself. Sheila and Bonnie were fan favorites in the Parker household.

December soon approached and Kai felt his mood shifting in a different direction. Everyone seemed to recognize it - curious if anything was going on. He forced smiles and gave false reassurances. Jo knew what was up - she'd sensed it first. Call it the weird twin bond they had. Luke and Liv shortly followed and it wasn't until he'd lost his temper in the kitchen at Vera's that his father told him to take the first flight back to Portland to get his head on straight. It was the first time they'd argued in a while and he saw how visibly shaken his siblings were.

When he arrived in Portland, he received a text from Jo. It was the name of a well-known psychiatrist in Portland that one of her co-workers had recommended to her. Was he having a mental breakdown? Everything had been going so well and then he just...lost it. Like he couldn't even recognize himself in the mirror anymore. He couldn't figure out who was talking or why he was constantly feeling like he had a chip on his shoulder. Kai was just so fucking angry. What had he forgotten to do?

It took him a week to finally schedule an appointment with Dr. Elizabeth Winters. The first session had been only an hour consisting of idle chatter while she listened. She watched him. He watched her. She didn't scribble anything down on her notebook at all - something that was a bit of a stereotype, of course, but Kai had been expecting it. She spoke to him like he was a person and not someone who had a problem, even though it was clear that he did, in fact, have a problem.

Kai saw her every day for the rest of that week.

Both friends and family called and texted regularly, making sure that he was okay. It was strange and he was happy. His mood was starting to lift little by little. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. By the end of the second week, however, Kai was getting restless at the house and had gone on an excessive cleaning spree. He visited his mother's grave and cried relentlessly over her headstone, falling asleep in the dirt only to wake up screaming hours later.

Something was _definitely_ wrong with him. There had been for a long time now. How could he have forgotten about it?

A week before Christmas, he got a text from Bonnie and it changed everything.

- _Kai? Are you okay? I've tried reaching out to everyone, but no one knows why you left and your family isn't talking for obvious reasons. I know it's probably none of my business, but I want you to know that I'm here if you ever need anything. Grams misses you. We all miss you. Come home soon._

He cried himself to sleep and didn't get out of bed for two days.

Instead of responding to Bonnie, Kai forced himself out of bed and made another appointment with Dr. Winters. She sat him down in her office and gave both a prescription and a schedule for his weekly therapy sessions.

He'd fucking relapsed and not even realized it.

Kai had been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder when he was in high school, shortly after his mother had died. It was genetic and he'd inherited it from her - almost as if her death had triggered it to bloom inside of him. The struggles with college were mild in comparison to his own manic depression and having to constantly combat it was always wearing him out. But his family had remained steadfast beside him - encouraging him and giving him love every step of the way. He had attended therapy weekly and was always on time with his medication.

...until he moved to Mystic Falls, that is.

Everything had changed when he'd first met Bonnie. He'd even cut back on smoking and threw himself into the whirlwind that was his new life there in that sleepy little town. Kai had gotten so wrapped up in that world that he'd forgotten about taking his medication. He'd forgotten to schedule therapy sessions with the local therapist. He'd been swept away by a sea of green and Kai had almost drowned in them.

Kai didn't come home for Christmas that year.

Regardless of the sudden changes in his life, he knew he needed to take care of himself. He didn't want to wreck the world around him, dragging it into a proverbial black hole the way that his mother had during her last months alive before she finally died.

He was happy. He wanted to remain happy. Always.

"Guess who's back, you punks?"

Liv and Luke both yelled in delight, rushing over to Kai and practically barreling him over in the front yard just as he set his bags down. Jo came running out the door to see what all the fuss was about and Joshua was in the middle of drying his hands with a dish towel. Kai laughed when he was able to pry his younger siblings off of him and he caught the look of relief washing over his dad's face. He knew that his father was the most worried of them all.

"Welcome home, Son," he said and Kai felt his brows cinch slightly as a knot formed in his chest. "Are you good?"

Kai watched Liv and Luke scamper back into the house with his bags. He didn't bother stopping them. "Yeah, I'm good, Dad."

"Good. Now hurry up and come on in. Dinner's almost ready."

"Uh, I gotta stop by a few places first." Kai flashed him a smile to reassure him that everything was fine. "You guys go ahead without me."

"We'll wait until you get back. Be careful."

He watched his father disappear back into the house before turning to Jo. "My rent's good, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. Who do you think I am?" Jo squeaked when Kai pulled her into a hug. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I just have some stuff to take care of." He let her go, pulling his keys out so he could take his own car that was still parked in the driveway. "It won't take long, I promise. I'll stay here for a few days just to ease Dad's mind, then I'm going back to my place."

Jo nodded and then shrugged. "You don't have to explain it to me. You're grown." She shooed him off and he laughed, pressing a loud kiss to her cheek. "Be careful!"

"Always!"

When Kai knocked on Sheila Bennett's door, he didn't expect a warm welcome. But he certainly didn't expect a pepper grinder to come flying at him. Kai barely dodged it before getting smacked in the face with a dishrag.

"Malachai Parker! You've got some nerve!"

"Ow-hey! Sheila, wait a minute! Let me explain!"

She tried to wallop him with the rolling pin next and he couldn't help but laugh at how much this probably resembled a sitcom. Of course, Sheila thought he was laughing at her expense and made a move to grab an umbrella from the rack when he'd finally wrestled the rolling pin from her. You'd think she was a jilted lover with the way that she was carrying on.

Dodging the umbrella, Kai quickly reached off to the side and thrust a bouquet of tulips, lilies, and jasmines into her face. This halted her motions long enough for him to skitter inside and plant a kiss on the older woman's cheek. She smacked his shoulder and he danced away from her when she tried to do it again.

The two of them said nothing once they were inside the kitchen. Kai watched her arrange the flowers in a clear vase before moving to the cabinet to retrieve two cups. She'd apparently just put the kettle on and was making tea. Sheila didn't ask for an explanation and Kai wasn't sure if he had one that he could properly give to her. Not yet, anyway.

He was about three sips into his forgiveness brew when the front door opened suddenly. Bonnie burst through and looked around, her green eyes wide with surprise before a smile spread over her lips. Goddamn, he'd really missed that smile. How had he gone months without it?

"You're back! I thought that was your car!"

Kai stood just as Bonnie crossed the room and gave him a warm hug. There was nothing romantic behind it. He hadn't expected it to be. But it was welcoming all the same and that's all Kai could have asked for.

"I can't stay for long, Bonnie. I just came by to make sure that your Grams didn't hate my guts and, well, to give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular box. Holding it out for her, she looked at it curiously before Kai nodded for her to open it.

Bonnie gasped slightly, covering her mouth with one hand as she eyed the charm bracelet. It was silver and gold and each charm held a special meaning. Currently, there were four charms hanging from the bracelet with room for three more to be hung around it. A golden book/journal as a show of her love for reading and writing, a silver game controller (because she was a beast at Mario Kart), a golden rosebud that reflected her love of flowers, and a silver "B" for her name.

Kai jumped slightly when Bonnie hugged him again and he wrapped his arms around her. "Happy Birthday, Bonster." He pulled her off of him and laughed. "Anyway, I can't stay. I promised my folks I'd have dinner with them. We'll catch up."

Just as he turned to head out the door, Bonnie grabbed his arm to stop him. Peering over his shoulder at her, he couldn't miss the worried expression lining her face. "Are you back?"

There was a flicker of warmth that seemed to seep and spread throughout his entire body. Even if it was just out of friendship, budding and fresh, Bonnie had been worried about him. "Yeah, I'm back." He flashed her his best impish grin and winked. "For good."


	4. Perfectly ImperfectLast to Know

**-Eden**

When Kai had first heard that Bonnie and Damon had been dating toward the end of her senior year in high school, it had felt like a swift kick in the gut by an Arabian horse. Or was it a Clydesdale? The wind had been knocked clean out of him and he remembered standing there, stunned, watching at a party during Spring Break as the two of them cuddled up where authority figures couldn't poke at their relationship. But she was eighteen now. She could date whomever she wanted, but there was still an image to maintain.

Mason had replaced his Solo cup with a fresh drink - adding a vodka shooter near the end. Somewhere by the end of the night, Kai had to excuse himself. Stefan had asked if he was alright and Kai reassured him that he was fine. When Liv and Luke protested that he was their D.D., he told them to call their older sister, Jo, instead.

Kai walked all the way from the Falls to Sheila's house. It was just shortly after one in the morning. The older woman didn't ask any questions. She just let him in and offered him a piping hot cup of tea, rubbing his back in comforting circles.

He woke up the next morning on Sheila's couch. His phone was on the cusp of dying and he had an array of colorful voicemails and text messages from friends and family alike. Sheila made him blueberry pancakes with a side of eggs and bacon.

He only ate a third of it before telling her he needed to go.

In his mind, he replayed everything in the back of his head. Bonnie had slowly been changing as the course of the spring semester started for her at Mystic Falls High. Coupled with the fact that there was constant whisperings going on at the school and among her peers of her clandestine relationship with Damon and, well, it shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise for Kai.

And yet it had.

His legs carried him to The Falls where his car was still parked. The others had managed to clean up their mess, or Mason had made them. Who knew? Who cared?

Damon Salvatore was an asshole. He may have had the charm, but underneath all that bravado was nothing short of a seasoned scumbag. Bonnie had no business dating someone like that and if she thought she was going to change him, she was sorely mistaken. Guys like him didn't change for the girl. It was always the girl who changed for guys like him.

Always.

But it wasn't any of _his business_ to get involved, right? Sure, it wasn't any secret that he had feelings for Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins, but he had never acted on them. He was always that steadfast friend, there for a laugh and waiting with a cup of hot cocoa or her favorite pint of ice cream. He was the friend she could bounce ideas off of and the one who told her to keep a stiff upper lip no matter how many times she felt like crying. Because whoever made her cry? Well, they didn't deserve her tears. Not when it was all said and done.

He shouldn't have done it, but Kai started to pull back from Bonnie and the others. Not out of maliciousness or out of being petty, but simply because he knew that he had to get his head together. He had to wrap his mind around the idea of Damon and Bonnie being _a thing_ and others in the world accepting. Graduation came for his siblings and the others and he threw the best house party he could for them - his condo being big enough to encompass their small circle of friends.

Everyone had asked if he was okay. He said that he was fine. When his siblings asked if he was okay, he said that he wasn't fine, but that he would be in time. For now, he had to stick with his own health and coping with the fact that the girl he cared about, who was also one of his best friends, was dating someone so far beneath her that she didn't even realize it.

Because _she_ didn't understand just how much she was worth.

* * *

 **Last to Know**

 **N.R**

"No more pencils, no more books." Bonnie sang to herself as she exited her car. It was officially spring break, and she wanted nothing more than to spend the entire week reconnecting with her man. Things had been a little tense between them lately, when Damon wasn't snapping at her for something, he was distant and sometimes he would vanish for a few hours. Bonnie figured he was stressed out at work and needed some "me time". She swore she wouldn't be one of those nagging girlfriends who needed to know where her man was at all times.

Besides, even if she wanted to keep tabs on him, she wouldn't have had the time. Her course load was so packed, she hardly had time for herself. There were times when she second guessed her decision to become a paralegal instead of sticking with her original plan of studying anthropology. But she wasn't a quitter, so she stuck with it, knowing it would all pay off one day.

Which was why she was so amped for spring break. In one of their monthly dutiful phone calls, her father had let slip that he would be in New Orleans for part of that week. When Bonnie mentioned how much stress she was under, and how much she needed a break, Rudy had offered to not only fly her and a friend out to see him, but he'd also pay for their hotel stay for the entire week, even after he'd be leaving.

She'd accepted in a heartbeat. She knew throwing money around was her father's way of showing his love, but most times she just wanted to spend time with him. This offer, however, was too good not to pass up. She'd get to see her dad and finally introduce him to Damon, visit a place she's always wanted to go, and relax with Damon far away from Mystic Falls.

Bonnie opened the door with a flourish, "Who's ready to laissez le bon temps rouler?" She called out in what she knew was a terrible French accent. Hearing the sounds of an argument, she followed the noise into the living room. Damon and Elena were standing on one side of the room, while Stefan was on the other shaking his head emphatically.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked. The tension in the room was so thick, she half wanted to leave and come back when it had dissipated.

Stefan let out an angry snort, "Go on Damon, tell Bonnie what you and Elena decided for spring break."

Bonnie got that feeling she had been experiencing far too often nowadays. She glanced at Damon, not liking the look on his face, nor the smug look on Elena's. "Well, I was thinking that instead of just us going to New Orleans, we can join everyone else in Cabo." She watched as he downed the rest of his drink and went to the wet bar to replenish his glass.

Bonnie took a step into the room, "What? Wait, no. Damon, this was already discussed and settled. Why the change of plans?" The feeling grows heavier in her stomach. "Besides, the flights and hotel have already been paid for by my dad. You know, the man who you've been putting off meeting for years."

"Bonnie they can meet another time, come to Cabo with us!" Elena jumped in with a wide smile, but Bonnie could see that it didn't reach her eyes. She spared only a glance at her friend before returning her attention to Damon. "You said yourself, you've always wanted to go to New Orleans, right?"

"Yeah, but-" Bonnie cut him off. "And you've always said that you wanted to meet my dad, right?"

"I do want to meet him, but-"

"But what Damon? This is the perfect opportunity! I don't understand, all you have to do is show up. It's not like he'll be there the whole time, I just really want the two most important men in my life to finally meet."

"Nice guilt trip, Bon." Elena muttered.

Bonnie whipped around to face Elena "Why are you even involved in this conversation? Your boyfriend is over there." She pointed to Stefan who hadn't moved an inch. "Can I please talk to mine in private?" Not giving her a chance to answer, she marched past everyone to the doors that led outside. She opened the door and gestured at Damon, "Outside. Now."

When he finally sauntered outside, Bonnie just held her hands out, "Why? You were all gung ho about going to New Orleans up till today apparently. What happened?" He looked everywhere but at her. "Can you at least look at me while you're stabbing me in the back?"

"Stabbing you in the back? Come on Bon, it's not that serious." He scoffed.

"Not that-" She had to stop and take a breath. "It is serious to me. God Damon, you've dragged me to all these work dinners, these board events, and I've had to sit through God only knows how many luncheons, but you can't even do this one thing for me?"

"So what, are you saying I owe you?"

"You know what? Yes, Damon, you owe me. I have gone over and above for you so many times. We've been together for years and you still haven't met my goddamn father!" Bonnie wanted to cry, everything she's done and given up for him, and he won't do one thing for her. What did that say about their relationship?

"Look, Bonnie, I am a grown ass man. If I don't want to go to New Orleans, then I won't. No amount of guilt tripping is going to change my mind." Damon snapped.

"No, just someone else whispering in your ear, right?" Damon looked taken aback at that, "I'm not dumb Damon, you were all set to go until I told everybody our plans. The only person who wasn't accepting of our plans to go to New Orleans instead of Cabo was Elena. How long did she have to whisper in your ear before you agreed to hang me out to dry?"

"Elena has nothing to do with my decision. What? I can't change my mind on something?" He challenged.

Bonnie shook her head sadly, "That's not even the point. We're supposed to be a couple, and you went ahead and decided something for us, without talking to me. When my dad offered this trip, I _asked_ you if you wanted to go, remember? You said yes." She pointed at his chest. "I wanted to spend some time with you, alone. We've both been extremely busy and I missed you. This trip was supposed to be just us, relaxing and being US without all the extra people from here getting in our business."

"We can still have time to ourselves, Bon." He tried to take her in his arms, but she wasn't backing down this time. She laughed bitterly, "Really? We can't even have a private conversation without _someone_ " she quickly turned her head to see Elena walking by as if she had just happened to be passing the door at that time, "listening in."

Bonnie took a deep breath, "I'm going to New Orleans, and I really hope you're coming with me." She stepped away from him and walked back to her car. She was desperately hoping he would call her name, or run after her and sweep her into his arms and declare she was right. She had to sit for a minute and blink away the tears that wanted to fall before she could drive off.

The entire night well on into the next day, she was hoping he would change his mind. It wasn't until she began getting texts from her friends asking why Damon was with them at the airport that she realized he was really not coming with her. In that moment, Bonnie felt abandoned all over again.

The call to her father to say she wasn't coming because she felt ill wasn't even a lie, she had thrown up a few times and her stomach was cramping something fierce. She had felt a little off the past week or so, but she had chalked it up to stress. She considered calling Liv to bring her something to eat, but decided against it until she knew she would be able to keep it down.

Luke and Liv had declined to go on the trip with everyone else, their help would be needed at the restaurant this week. Since Liv wasn't going, Tyler opted out as well, saying he wouldn't be able to enjoy himself knowing his girlfriend was working while he was partying. Thinking of how considerate Tyler was compared to Damon made the pain flare anew. She fished out the heating pad she kept around for those particularly brutal time of the months, and curled up in her bed to go to sleep.

The pain that kicked her awake was like nothing she'd ever felt before. Throwing off her covers she was shocked to find herself in a pool of blood. "Oh god, oh god, oh god." She reached for her phone, fingers shaking as she tried to focus on calling for help. At that moment though, her phone rang and Liv's picture flashed across the screen, she grabbed the lifeline that was handed to her.

"LIV! Oh god, there's so much blood…I don't know what to do." She knew she was babbling incoherently, but was unable to stop.

"What blood? Bonnie? Are you okay?" Liv sounded as panicked at she did at the moment.

"I don't know where it came from, there's so much blood, oh my god" Bonnie dropped the phone and let out a yell when the next wave of pain hit. The next moments were a blur for Bonnie as she could only focus on breathing through the pain, and wondering why there was so much blood.

She must have passed out because the next thing she knew, she was waking up in the hospital. Her grandmother on one side, and Liv on the other, they were talking softly amongst themselves.

"Grams?" She croaked. Her grandmother was fighting tears as she stroked Bonnie's hair, "It's okay. You're okay, thank the Lord."

"What happened?" Bonnie felt like she was underwater, her limbs were heavy and her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Liv cleared her throat, "Do you remember me calling?" She asked softly.

Bonnie thought back, the memory of waking up in a pool of blood flashed in front of her. "Oh my God, what happened? Why was there so much blood?" Her grandmother took her hand, "You had a miscarriage, Bonnie." The words cut through the haze of the drugs and Bonnie swore she felt her heart break in two. She had lost a baby that she hadn't even known she was carrying.

The next days passed in a fog for Bonnie. She's not sure what Liv told her job or Tyler, but she and her grandmother were constantly by her side the entire week. Liv had even arranged for Bonnie's old bed to be removed and replaced with a brand new one. When Bonnie had protested, Liv simply looked at her, "I know what it's like, and I'm here if you ever want to talk or even just sit in silence."

By the time the others had come back, Bonnie was physically on the mend, but mentally she felt as if a part of her had died that day too. The gaping hole that she's always had in her was growing steadily and she had no idea how to overcome it. Damon had come to see her a few days after he'd gotten back, he was as shaken by the news as she was, and had apologized profusely for leaving her and promised to be better for them in the future. She forgave him, but that feeling inside of her, like something else was going on, never really went away. They decided to keep it to themselves, Bonnie didn't want a constant reminder of something so devastating, or want people to be on edge around her.

Damon was true to his word, though. It was like the beginning all over again, without the sneaking around because she was underage bit, he was funny and charming and everything she could want in a partner. When she graduated, he planned the most romantic couples trip just for them, and Bonnie fell in love all over again.

* * *

 **-Eden**

The years flew by faster than Kai could have imagined. In time, just like he'd said, he was able to get over that gut punch that came from finding out that Bonnie was dating Damon Salvatore. He returned to his place of being the ever supportive friend, confidante, and supplier of sweet desserts when Bonnie and Damon had falling outs. Which, now that he puzzled over it, had been a frequent occurrence.

Kai was halfway into his bowl of Frosted Flakes when the word "Cabo" interjected into his brain. "Wait, what?"

Liv pulled her hair into a low ponytail, her blonde curls hanging loosely around her shoulder. "I said that Elena won't shut the fuck up about this damn trip to Cabo."

"Yeah, she's been a broken record about it ever since Bonnie talked about her trip with Damon to New Orleans." Luke bit into his toast as he leaned against the counter.

"Okay, so?" Kai motioned to Liv to hand him his phone so he could check the time. He needed to head into work soon to prep for Lunch. "What's that got to do with Bonnie and Damon? They're going to New Orleans."

Both of his siblings gave him a pointed look before Liv sighed. "Look, Bro, I know you've pulled yourself out of the loop for the sake of your bleeding heart," she chided, earning her the finger from Kai. Luke snorted. "But I'm going to need you to keep up."

"Keep up with what, Liv?" He finished off his cereal and made his way over to the sink, hip bumping her out of the way so he could wash up their dishes too. "Bonnie is a grown ass woman. I think she's more than capable of taking her boyfriend to New Orleans without someone holding her hand."

This time it was Luke who blinked at his brother in surprise. "Do you seriously not know what's going on?"

Kai groaned and then shrugged. "I know what I'm told. Come on, guys, I have enough shit to deal with than to keep up with the drama that is your post college graduation lives."

"Kai…" Liv started, then bit her lower lip.

He narrowed his eyes at her, wiping his hands clean with a dish towel. "Now if there's something important that I need to be kept in the loop about, then feel free to shed some light to your big brother. Otherwise, leave Bonnie alone. Let her just live her life how she wants, alright?"

Luke and Liv sighed before relenting in unison. He then promptly shooed them out of his condo so he could think about how he was going to prep both lunch and dinner. Just before he left the house, however, he shot Bonnie a quick text to tell her that he hoped she was having a good day and to not be a stranger.

Even though it was Kai who had begun making himself the stranger first.

"KAI!"

Looking up from chopping vegetables, the other kitchen hands only acknowledged the door being flung open before resuming their work. It was only Olivia and she was known for being unnecessarily loud. Kai was about to start in on her when he noticed the fearful look in her eyes. His hands immediately stopped moving.

"What's the matter?"

"It's Bonnie!" Her eyes danced with a wild light. "I think Bonnie's hurt!"

The knife clattered to the floor and Kai was already stripping out of his apron. There was a haphazard call to the other staff to finish up and to call his father to let him know he was taking off for the afternoon. Liv and Kai both flew out the kitchen and bee-lined toward the back entrance of Vera's.

"Did you call her grandmother?"

"No!" Liv looked like she was about to have a full-blown panic attack, her hands trembling as she struggled to put on her seatbelt. "I was just trying to talk to Bonnie and I think she passed out and...and she said something about blood and-!"

"LIV!" Kai's voice boomed through the car, silencing Liv's stammering long enough for her to finally click the belt securely around her. Her chest rose and fell heavily and Kai did his best to maintain some level of calm. He took a breath, then sighed before cranking the car up. "Call her grandmother and tell her to meet us at Bonnie's apartment. Okay?"

"O-Okay…"

Pulling out his phone, Kai punched his brother's number and threw it up on the dash.

 _"_ _What's up? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"_

"Tell Dad I'm going to the hospital. It's an emergency. Call Jo too."

 _"_ _What's going on?"_

"We think Bonnie's hurt. I'll call you later."

And before Luke could ask any more questions, he hung up the phone - breaking several Virginia traffic laws to get to Bonnie's apartment.

Sheila Bennett must have done the same because she was already waiting for them by the time they arrived. The three of them entered Bonnie's apartment to find her passed out on the floor of her bedroom, blood soaked through on her bed and spreading from her body. Kai didn't waste any time, hefting her up into his arms and carrying her to his car. Sheila and Liv wrapped her up in blankets and settled her into the backseat and he made a bee-line for the hospital.

For the third time in his life, Kai was gut-kicked - the wind knocked out of him. Sheila, Liv and Kai stood outside of Bonnie's room at the hospital, staring at the doctor who had just relayed the news of Bonnie's condition. Liv gasped, her hands covering her mouth, and Sheila was just standing there with the most wide-eyed expression he'd ever seen on her face.

The moisture had left Kai's mouth completely.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he attempted to speak anyway. "A...a w-what?"

"She had a miscarriage. Luckily you all got to her in time, or she would have suffered severe blood loss."

 _Not again…_

It was like he was in high school all over again. Except instead of his mother, it was Bonnie. Why did these things keep happening to the good women in his life? What did they deserve to be placed in these situations?

The worst feeling was not knowing what to do. Kai didn't know where to begin doing _anything_. He felt like a child who had just witnessed a friend getting hit by a car in slow motion. Too slow to think. Too slow to act. And now that the scene was right there in front of him and time had gone back to normal, he just stood there, unable to do a single fucking thing.

Because in the grand scheme of things, what could he do now that the life had been taken from the world before it had a chance at said life? What was Kai supposed to do now? The things he hadn't done before? But just _what_ hadn't he done back then that he needed to now?

"How long are you planning on keeping her for?" Sheila asked softly - ripping through his thoughts and bringing him back out of his own head.

The doctor's brows furrowed slightly. "Well, we're going to want to run a few more tests. Just to err on the side of caution. Possibly keep her overnight. Maybe longer, if her guardian is willing."

Sheila nodded, biting her thumbnail. Liv sidled up next to Kai and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, stroking up and down her arm to ease her nerves. When they were left alone to discuss things, Kai quickly stopped Sheila from leaving the hospital with murder in her eyes.

"Alright Hurricane Sheila," Kai said, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. "It's not going to do anyone any good if you wind up in jail today. Okay?"

Her eyes cut to him with venom, but he knew it wasn't directed toward him. "Malachai Parker," she breathed slowly, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. "You better pray that _you_ get a hold of that boy before I do." Her hands moved to wrap her fingers around his wrists. "Because there won't be a body left to identify when I'm through."

Kai smirked but there was no humor behind it. "You give me too much credit if you think there will be a body left when I'm done." He pulled her into a hug. "Now go to her so you're the first person she sees when she wakes up." Kai's gaze moved to his sister. "You too, Liv. You were the one on the phone with her when it went down."

"Yeah, okay…"

Kai couldn't be around her when she woke up. He just couldn't. Seeing the normally bubbly, optimistic Bonnie who hid her pain behind that plastic smile she'd been donning lately? He just couldn't do it.

No. It was better for everyone if she didn't even know that he was there in the first place.

It took three days for the blood stains to come out of the backseat of his car. Kai didn't care. He worked on ordering a new bed for Bonnie and it was already on the way by the time Liv had told Bonnie about it. Kai and Mason took care of cleaning up her apartment and fixing things like how they were before she had the miscarriage. Liv and Sheila never left Bonnie's side. Kai only came to see her when she was asleep and with no chance of waking up to see him keeping vigil over her.

Mason and Tyler were both there to do damage control when Damon finally made the time to see Bonnie once he'd returned from the trip to Cabo. They had never seen Kai so frigid in the entire time they'd known him and if the aura he gave off was freezing, he could only imagine what would have happened had they not been there to stand between him and Damon.

Bonnie forgave Damon once he gushed all of his promises to be better. Kai wanted to set all of Mystic Falls ablaze. All she saw was him and nothing else so, of course, it should have been obvious how it would have gone down. He was her first _everything_ and it was a gift that the older Salvatore brother didn't deserve.

Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins - so perfectly imperfect.

* * *

 **N.R**

Her first year working at the Salvatore firm went by in the blink of an eye. There were plenty of employees, so Bonnie kind of just blended in with the crowd. She did a good job, but her heart really wasn't in it. Sometimes she would play with the charm gavel that Kai gave to her on graduation day and wonder if she could just walk out.

When her birthday rolled around, she wasn't really in the mood for celebrating. Work was a soul sucking waste of time, her relationship with her grandmother was rocky. Her friends sensed something was wrong, but didn't really know what, so all their attempts at helping didn't really do much good.

And Damon….

Well, he slipped back into his old habits. Nit-picking every little thing she did, down to her wardrobe and how she styled her hair. He would frequently be gone on "company lunches" or take off for "business retreats" for days at a time. She wasn't stupid, she knew he was cheating, but he always came home to her. Wasn't that all that mattered in the end?

Not according to her grandmother. Sheila Bennett-Brand wanted his head on a platter, and made no bones about it. She frequently had to step aside and let Kai cool her down when she went off on a tangent about "that bug-eyed boy". She knew everyone else thought shades of the same, but her grandmother was the only one to tell her right to her face.

So celebrating her birthday really wasn't a top priority for Bonnie this year, she just wanted to go somewhere quiet with Damon. She knew that wouldn't be possible with Caroline already prepping for a party at the Gilberts' cabin. Bonnie was sure it was supposed to be a surprise, but Rebekah, bless her soul, couldn't keep a secret to save her life.

Maybe she should have taken lessons from her former boyfriend and former best friend.

What Bonnie would remember in absolute clarity about that night, was the fact that almost nobody else was surprised. When all hell broke loose and everyone was shouting, Bonnie noticed there was no "what are you doing?" or "how/when did this happen?" It was more along the lines of, "I can't believe you would do this here!" and "I thought this was done?"

Was she really the last to know?


	5. Last Day 30 Days 31 Nights

**-Last Day**

 **N.R**

The last day of Bonnie Elise Bennett-Hopkins life started out like many days before. She got up, got dressed, put on a brave face, and went to the job that she hated with all her heart. She was actively looking for another job somewhere else, working near Damon was agony for her.

Elena certainly didn't make things any easier, she would constantly swing by for "lunch" and made sure to walk by Bonnie's desk every single time. It wasn't long until word got around just exactly what happened, and why Bonnie was looking to leave.

It was of little consolation to her that most of the employees thought what both Damon and Elena did was extremely shady, and sided with Bonnie.

She didn't really care about sides, she just wanted some peace of mind. Ever since that fateful night of her birthday party, she's been plagued by bad dreams and endless 'what ifs'.

What if she were prettier?

What if she were thinner?

What if she were smarter?

It all swirled in her mind, and the only thing she had been able to come up with is that she herself wasn't enough. There was something about her that made it easy for people to leave her, even her so-called friends were distancing themselves from her. Bonnie knows she hasn't been the most fun person as of late, but she had just gotten her world turned upside down by the two people she trusted with all her heart. Wasn't she allowed to mourn the loss of two of the most important people in her life?

"Did you hear about Damon?" She overheard a secretary hiss. Bonnie halted her steps outside the door.

"No, what did the asshole do now?"

"They eloped! His secretary was bitching about having to shuffle his cases around and let it slip."

"No way! Has anyone told Bonnie?"

"Are you kidding? The poor girl is still thinking he's gonna come back to her. I will not be the one to break it to her, it'd be like kicking a puppy when it's already down."

Bonnie had heard enough, she felt as if her world had come crashing down. She put in leave for the rest of the day and went home. She curled up on her bed and let the tears come.

She cried for all the time she spent defending her relationship with Damon to everybody.

She cried for all the years she spent loving him.

She cried for the loss of a friend she never thought would betray her.

She cried for the part of her that would always be aching for someone to love her

She cried.

Once the deluge of tears stopped, Bonnie lay on her bed completely drained.

'They eloped?' Bonnie still couldn't wrap her head around it. She and Damon dated all through her college years, and they hadn't even come close to even being engaged. Hell, he was against Bonnie even moving in! But here comes Elena, and suddenly he wants to settle down? What the hell did she have that Bonnie didn't?

Her phone had been going non-stop all afternoon, she knew by now everyone had seen Elena's Facebook post. It was a shot of the (humongous) ring, and a caption that simply said "Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore." She had tagged everyone in the post, so there was no way they didn't know that Bonnie had seen it.

Her eyes landed on the jewelry box that, according to her grandmother, had been her mothers' as a little girl. She sat up and started looking through all the jewelry Damon had given her over the years. Nothing even came close to the rock that currently sat on Elena's finger, but then again, huge gaudy rings weren't exactly Bonnie's style.

That doesn't mean it didn't hurt.

It hurt. It hurt so bad that Bonnie gave up so many years on someone who didn't even have the decency to tell her to her face that he didn't love her anymore. It hurt that her so called best friend (who already had an awesome guy of her own) was the one who got to call herself his wife. It hurt that once again, Bonnie was shoved aside for someone else.

Her phone chimed again, she reached over to silence it, but saw the text was from Kai.

 _-I'm here, for whatever you need._

She smiled sadly as her eyes landed on the charm bracelet he'd given her all those years ago. Contrary to what everybody thought, she was fully aware of Kai's feelings, Damon had made damn sure that she knew. He despised Kai, and took great pleasure in rubbing it in the other man's face that he was with Bonnie any chance he got. He especially hated the fact that she loved the charm bracelet that Kai had given her, and had finally worn her down into not wearing it anymore.

Even when he had dumped her for Elena, the sight of her hanging out with Kai still made Damon clench his fist. Bonnie had stupidly thought that meant he still cared about her, that this thing with Elena was just a fling and he had to get it out of his system.

She was a damn fool.

She knew people talked behind her back, she heard the whispers, the mocking that happened while she was just out of earshot. Caroline, in particular, had taken a hard line on not wanting to hear any more about the situation, telling her it would be best to let it go and move on.

Bonnie was suddenly, furiously, angry. At herself.

Why couldn't she just give it up? Her mother gave up on her daughter and husband. Her father gave up on his raising his daughter. What was it about her that made her want to hang on to someone who obviously wasn't coming back?

She had spent the last six months doing everything she could possibly do to entice Damon back. She'd taken to wearing her hair straight as a pin, dieting so she could slim down to mimic Elena's svelte figure. And for what? He ran off and married _her_ , not Bonnie.

She angrily swiped at the tears that streamed down her cheeks. She was so tired of being sad, so tired of putting on a fake smile every single day. She thought of Stefan, he'd had the right idea to leave right after their affair was discovered _. 'Lucky son of a bitch'_ she thought bitterly.

Bonnie needed a drink, but she didn't keep any alcohol at her place. She didn't really feel like drinking around people that she knew right now. She thought of the bar on third that she knew Damon frequented when he would go out for a boys' night.

* * *

She's not sure how long she had been sitting there when she realizes Nik has pulled up a spot next to her.

"Hey, Nik!" Bonnie greeted cheerfully before taking in the fact that he was soaked from head to toe. "When did I start raining?" She frowned and turned to peer out the window, or rather, tried to. Nik was quick enough to reach out and keep her upright on her stool. "Whoops" she giggled, "Think I've had a few too many."

"Bonnie, what are you doing, love?" Nik sighed wearily.

"Celebrating!" Bonnie held up her drink, "Come join me in toasting the nuptials of my former BFF and boyfriend."

"Bloody hell," he sighed to himself. "I'm not in the mood to listen to you rattle on about that prat and the lesser Gilbert. Can we please just sit in silence, and I'll drive you home after?" Bonnie squinted in thought before giving a definitive nod. "Kay."

Of course that didn't last long, by the time Nik was on his third drink, Bonnie could tell he was extremely agitated. He was ranting about his fight with Caroline, and Bonnie was trying to sympathize with him.

"Hey, it's okay, you guys will get through it! Damon used to-" She was cut off by a snort.

"Please don't compare what I have with Caroline to what you had with that asshole. I am nothing like him."

Bonnie pulled back in shock, "I wasn't, I was just trying-"

"Trying to what Bonnie? Let me give you some harsh truths that nobody seems to want to tell you to your face: Damon is gone. He and your so called best friend were fucking behind your back for months before you found out. He's not coming back to you, hell, I'm not even sure if he loved _you_ , or if he just loved the fact that you were so needy that he could _control_ you. It's pathetic that you keep holding out hope. Take some cues from Stefan, get some self-respect and move on." He was breathing harshly when he finished. He turned to the bartender to order another drink.

Bonnie sat still as a stone looking at her empty glass full of melting ice. Of all the things Nik had said, one part stood out in big glaring letters:

 _'_ _I'm not even sure if he loved_ _ **you**_ _, or if he just loved the fact that you were so needy that he could_ _ **control**_ _you.'_

That can't be right. Bonnie thought. He _did_ love her…once. She was sure of it. She knew she could be needy and had abandonment issues, but surely she wasn't unlovable, right? She was jolted out of her drunken musings by Nik arguing with the bartender about the quality of the whisky in his drink.

 _Sometimes being small has it's advantages,_ Bonnie thought as she slid off the stool and made her way outside.

It was still pouring rain, but that didn't register to her at all. She needed to get to Damon. Nik was lying, he had to be. They were together for the better part of 5 years! You don't stay with someone for that long unless you love them, right?

She didn't bother with her seatbelt, she'd made the drive hundreds, no THOUSANDS of times before. Bonnie knew the route like the back of her hand. "I just need to hear him say it" she muttered to herself, "doesn't matter that he's with her now. He did love me once, I was wanted."

She repeated the words to herself in the quietness of the car.

She was nearly there when the flash of lightning right in front of her car startled her so bad, she jerked the wheel to the left. Bonnie slammed on what she thought was the brake, but was the accelerator instead.

She watched it all happen as if it were a movie playing on the big screen in the theater.

Her front tire struck the curb, and combined with her speed and along with the water on the ground, her car went airborne off the road. It flipped once in the air, landing on the roof at the edge of the forest that surrounded the Salvatore property.

Bonnie had been thrown clear from the wreck, her body was found five feet from her car.

* * *

 **-Eden**

The last day of Bonnie Elise Bennett-Hopkins' life hadn't been like any other for Malachai Parker. His normally scheduled day for therapy had been pushed back for _that_ day versus earlier that week. On top of the end of the week rush at Vera's, two of their cooks had called in sick and he was having to cover and shoulder the weight of three chefs - himself included. He had Luke pick up his prescription from the pharmacy since he couldn't break away after lunch and his appointment was at three.

Therapy had gone well enough for the day. Dr. Maxwell said he had been doing exceptionally well over the years and it would probably be okay to start scheduling their sessions to be once or twice a month versus once a week. Despite the ups and downs that transpired in his life, Kai was doing pretty good for himself. It was only a matter of time before his father would completely hand over the reins to Vera's - both in Portland and in Mystic Falls.

Would he want to leave? No. He couldn't even imagine being far away from his family for good - only seeing them on the holidays. There was just no way.

And then there were the friends he'd made while he had started settling in. Kai didn't even want to think about life without them anymore. He may have been a city boy living in a sleepy town, but the sleepy town was where his heart was.

And then there was Bonnie…

Some would have called him a fool. Some actually did. But Kai didn't care. He had faith. He had hope to last for centuries. Because the Bonnie that he knew, the girl who had a spark of fire inside of her? She was still there, he knew it! She was even on the hunt for another job to get away from Damon Salvatore and the rest of his bullshit that came with it. Bonnie was taking steps in the right direction. It had come years later and her relationship with her friends and even Sheila had nearly reached the breaking point, but she was starting to come around.

He just had to be patient.

Kai rarely fooled around with social media. It was just a cesspool of drama waiting to happen. Coupled with the fact that Damon and Elena were displaying their disgusting relationship all over Facebook almost had Kai deleting his account completely. He abstained since the restaurant's social media pages happened to be on that platform.

It was tempting though.

The notification chime from Facebook wasn't what finally got his attention. It was the numerous text messages and phone calls that flooded his phone from everyone else. They were all asking where Bonnie was since she had taken off from work and refused to answer her phone. Kai didn't have a key to her place and he wasn't about to bug Sheila with it and worry the older woman more. Stefan had left town shortly after Bonnie's birthday, though who could blame him?

Dialing Caroline, he waited a few seconds before she finally picked up.

 _"_ _Have you found her?"_

"She's probably at home, Care. Don't you and Kat have time to swing by and check on her? Or Becks? I'm stuck at work and I don't think I'll be able to leave anytime soon."

Kai propped the phone up on his shoulder as he shuffled through the stack of paperwork piled up on his desk at work. Their accountant had crunched some numbers and he decided to double-check them and see where their budget would be at for the next month.

 _"_ _What about your family?"_

He bit back an aggravated sigh. "Liv is at the restaurant with me since we're down a few staff. Luke went to run some errands for me and my father is taking the day off since he worked a double two days in a row." Before she could say anything else, he cut her off. "And Jo is out of town for a medical seminar. She left this morning."

 _"_ _Damn…"_

There was a minute pause before Kai set his pen down to hold the phone properly. "Seriously, what the fuck, Caroline?"

 _"_ _Huh? What are you talking about?"_

"We all know Damon is a prick. Elena is a shady piece of work. We saw Bonnie unravel for that son of a bitch and we _all_ let it happen. _All_ of us."

 _"_ _She's the one who pulled away from all of us first! What else were we supposed to do? Damon tried to isolate her from everyone and-"_

"We are just as much to blame for this shit happening as Bonnie is."

 _"_ _Wha-?"_

"We should have been there for her instead of just watching on the sidelines all these years, hoping that things would get better." Kai didn't know if he was talking to himself or to Caroline anymore. "Instead of bottling things up until they exploded, we should have just buried that bastard alive."

His anger was on the precipice of a volcanic eruption. Yes, he blamed himself. He should have never let it get this far. Bonnie had started turning things topsy turvy in her life and it was all because of her relationship with Damon.

The minute that Bonnie and Sheila's worlds had been torn asunder because of it, Kai knew he should have done something about it. When he first arrived in Mystic Falls, no one could have ever convinced him that Bonnie would ever allow for her relationship with her Grams to wither to dying a blossom. No one.

 _"_ _Kai, what is go-?"_

He slammed his fist on the desk, causing the papers to fly everywhere. "And why is everyone always relying on me to be the one to see how she's doing? You all have known her your whole lives and yet you guys were the first ones to run away when it looked like you weren't going to be able to convince her to let her shit with Damon go."

 _"_ _Wait a damn minute, Kai!"_

"Sure, this whole fucking town knows how I feel about her, but that doesn't give any of you the right to shove the friendship responsibility solely onto my shoulders! On the shoulders of _my_ family!"

Kai had had enough. He was at his limit and that was saying something for the wealth of patience he had learned to accumulate over the years. No one wanted to be responsible. No one wanted to make the hard choices. Not even his family, and yet they were stuck doing it every single time.

Liv wasn't the lovey, bubbly and affectionate type. She had reached her limit first and with Luke dealing with his own relationship, he wasn't as watchful as he used to be in their high school days. Jo was swamped with work and while their father was always aware of most things, he was of the belief that young people needed to handle their own problems.

And Kai wasn't going to be the one to break the hard truths to Bonnie because he knew, better than anyone, just how delicate the mind really was. Shattering what courage she had managed to build up over the last few weeks would have been dangerous. He wouldn't be that person, no matter how much he wanted Bonnie to see the truth of the world around her.

Sighing heavily, he angrily brushed his fingers through his hair and scratched at the stubble on his chin. "Look, I gotta go. Like I said, things are tight over here and I can't break away even if I wanted to. Just...just check on her, okay?"

He didn't wait for Caroline to say goodbye. Kai hung up and shot Bonnie a text.

 _-I'm here, for whatever you need._

It was all he could spare the time and energy for. But she would get through this. She would. It was just going to take a little bit of time.

Kai was in need of a strong drink and a couple of aspirin by the time he closed up the restaurant. A storm had blown in out of nowhere. Not wanting to let his younger sister tool around in his car, however, had Kai rethinking this need and he decided to take her back home first. He handed her the ledger to pass off to their dad and said he'd call him first thing in the morning when he got the chance.

He wasn't ready to go home. Not yet. He thought about calling Elijah or Mason to see if they wanted to hit The Grill for a few beers and game of pool when his phone started to ring. Waiting until he came to a stoplight, he answered it on speaker.

 _"_ _Oh, thank fuck. I didn't know if you were still at work."_

It was Nik.

"I actually just closed up a little while ago. Was gonna see about heading out for a drink or two. You want in?"

 _"_ _No, that's why I'm calling. I...I think I fucked up, bleedin' Christ."_

Kai pulled over to an empty median once the traffic light changed to green. "Did you get drunk and yell at Caroline?" It seemed he couldn't escape from anyone's relationship problems.

 _"_ _Caroline and I fought earlier. Some shit about me being an insensitive ass, but listen, that's not what I'm talking about…"_

"Well spit it out, man."

 _"_ _It's Bonnie. I ran into her at that place Damon likes to go and she was pretty knackered. I snapped and just laid into her and-"_

"What?!" Kai's anger flared up for the second time that day. "Are you fucking serious right now?"

 _"_ _Look, I know, okay? I was just stuck in my own shit and Bonnie was there and she-"_

"Where is she?"

The silence was so suffocating that Kai thought he was going to die from it. Between the ringing in his ears and the painful thudding of his heart against his chest, he wasn't sure he was going to make it. Kai clutched at his chest, feeling a burn threatening to spill out of his esophagus.

 _"_ _Mate-"_

"WHERE IS SHE NIKLAUS?!"

 _"_ _I DON'T KNOW!"_

"You don't know?!" The two of them were yelling and it wasn't helping. "Fucking Christ, how long has she been gone?"

 _"_ _I don't know, alright? I just turned my head away for two seconds and then she disappeared!"_

"FUCK!" He punched his steering wheel repeatedly, honking the horn in the process. After about five more seconds of this, he finally calmed down enough to take a few deep breaths. "...okay, let's just take a minute and figure out where she could be. There's a chance she could be driving. I'm going to call Sheila and Mason. Get ahold of Caroline and the others. Call me if you find her."

 _"_ _Alright."_

Kai sat there for a long moment just staring at nothing. His nerves were shot and it only just occurred to him that there was still a torrential downpour outside. If Bonnie was inebriated and driving out in that weather…

* * *

He called Sheila.

He was with Sheila when they got the call from Doctor Fell. Kai had never seen the older woman coming unglued in all the years he'd known her. But when Sheila dropped the phone and fell into his arms, he knew that something was definitely up. She stressed that there was no time. They needed to get to the hospital now.

It felt like it took a hundred years to get to there. Sheila and he both ran through the doors, a small crew of EMTs stopping them. Everyone in the town knew who they were and knew what sort of state they would have been in had either of them saw Bonnie at that moment. The older woman's temper flared to new heights and Kai's only saving grace was that keeping her calm was also preventing him from erupting.

Bonnie was in surgery for ten hours. Kai called his father to let him know that he wasn't coming into work for the next couple of days. The next time they saw Logan Fell, he broke the news to Sheila, stating that her granddaughter was in a coma. They didn't know when she would wake up. _If_ she would wake up.

For the next two weeks, Kai's life moved by in a strange blur. Almost like he was walking through mud as high as his waist. His father told him to take some time off and he found himself lounging around like a sack of useless meat on his couch in his apartment. Jo came by often to check on him and she was horrified to see that his medication hadn't been touched since Luke went to pick up his prescription half a month ago. Kai couldn't bring himself to get medicated. Kai had missed his scheduled appointment with Dr. Maxwell, but the small town had informed his therapist what was going on. He'd left a voicemail telling him to come in when he was ready.

The image of Bonnie's beaten and battered body was burned forever in his mind. Doctor Fell said that it was a genuine, honest-to-God miracle that she'd survived the crash. She should have died instantly. Maybe the afterlife wasn't ready for Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins. Or maybe she wasn't ready for the afterlife.

Kai wasn't a religious person but he went to church with Sheila every Sunday and Wednesday. They prayed together and in the quiet solitude of her cottage, she cried and he did everything he could not to cry with her. He saved his tears for when he was alone where no prying eyes could see. Every day he would drop Sheila off at the hospital and pick her up when visiting hours were over.

 _He_ didn't actually start visiting until the third week. Kai brought her flowers and read poetry to her when Sheila needed a break to sleep. The older woman was often hunched up in one of the chairs in the corner of the room.

Another week had passed.

Kai read everything from Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and had even dabbled into William Faulkner. She had always been a bit of a bleeding heart so one day, out of the blue, Kai started reading "A Farewell to Arms" by Hemingway.

 _"_ _Maybe...you'll fall in love with me all over again."  
_

 _"Hell," I said, "I love you enough now. What do you want to do? Ruin me?"  
_

 _"Yes. I want to ruin you."_

 _"Good," I said. "That's what I want too."_

The hospital went into an uproar almost seconds after Kai stepped through the threshold. The bouquet he had in his hands fell to the floor, trampled underfoot without a second thought. Orderlies and nurses ran down the hall and rounded the next corner where he knew Bonnie was. Something in his gut told him that they were all hustling over to Bonnie.

He gave chase and his heart dropped to his gut when he saw Sheila wailing on the floor, that sickening tone of the EEG and Heart Rate Monitors sounding off the tell-tale cry that it was over. It was all over.

Bonnie was gone.

Doctor Fell yelled for the monitors to be turned off and Kai wanted to burn the hospital down. She had been fine! She was just tired! Bonnie was just tired of all the bullshit and needed to sleep. She just needed to rest. Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins was no quitter!

Kai had barely taken a handful of steps when chaos erupted once more. Monitors were reattached and the heart monitor announced a pulse. His heart thudded like a drum declaring war and part of him wanted to run in and see for himself the miracle that had happened - the miracle he had been praying for.

Leaning on the outside of the door, he let his back rest there just as the weak sound of Bonnie's voice cut through all of the noise. Sheila sobbed, crying both from joy and sadness as she saw her granddaughter return from the land of the dead.

It had been thirty days of hell, but Bonnie had come up swinging on the thirty-first night.

His legs shook and he slid to the floor, a weak smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Kai pressed his palms into his eyes and, try as he might to stop them, the tears flowed freely. A sob rattled through him, shaking his entire body. She was alive. She hadn't given up the fight or the fights to come.

Kai didn't care that he was a crying mess on the hospital floor. People left him alone. And as he bit into the back of his wrist, he smiled a little more for the first time in months.

 _Welcome back, Bonnie. Glad to see you've still got some fight left in you._

He craned his neck slightly to peek inside, seeing Sheila cradling Bonnie's hand in hers as her granddaughter's weak fingers curled over the older woman's.

 _So you better get up and give Mystic Falls some hell._


	6. Differences

**N.R**

There was something different about Bonnie Elise Bennett-Hopkins.

Ever since she had emerged from her month long coma, Kai has been subtly (okay maybe not so subtly) cataloging the differences.

The most obvious is her insistence of making sure her grandmother is within her sights. Kai has been around when Sheila has had to leave the room, and he's watched as Bonnie keeps her head on a swivel awaiting her return, seeming to only relax when Sheila is back in her orbit.

It's strange, because for the last six months, maybe even year, he could tell their once close relationship had become strained. Kai wasn't privy to all that went on, but he knew Sheila worried about her granddaughter, and the choices she had been making of late.

But all that seems to have been forgotten once Bonnie woke up. The two were inseparable and you would hardly have known that a mere months ago, Bonnie had threatened to cut her grandmother out of her life if she didn't mind her own business.

Then there was her reaction to her friends. Some got a warm welcome, (Caroline, Matt, Tyler), and others were left wondering what they had done wrong to earn such a cold shoulder. Sure, that had all faded with time, but in the beginning, it was touch and go.

Her reaction to him was incredibly puzzling. He obviously never had the relationship he wanted with Bonnie, but they were friends at least. However, out of everyone, she kept him on ice the longest. It was long enough that others had taken notice and asked if he had done something to make her freeze him out. He swore up and down that he had been his normal self, but he did the noble thing and backed off a bit until she grew more comfortable around him.

And then she did, grow more comfortable around him, that was.

Kai thought he knew Bonnie. He would have sworn up and down that he knew all her smiles, all her nervous tics, what her face looked like when she was concentrating on opening a jar of pickles, how she preferred her sandwiches, what she liked to drink, and so on.

Not so much anymore, it seemed. The Bonnie that emerged was not the one that he knew. This Bonnie guarded her smiles and laughter like they were gold, handing them out sparingly. Her poker face was pretty damn perfect, no longer could he just look at her and tell how her day was going.

All of the little habits of hers that Kai had memorized over the years didn't seem to matter anymore, because she constantly threw him for a loop. Going left when she had always gone right, saying yes when it had always been a no. Sticking up for herself more, and not letting anyone run roughshod all over her.

He knew his jaw was damn near on the ground the first time he saw her get into an argument with someone. She didn't yell, but the steel in her voice was enough to make him turn around and have to adjust himself in his pants. Bonnie, the Bonnie that he had spent years lusting over, had never spoke to anyone in that tone. He didn't even know her voice could get that low and rumbly.

He made sure to store that little tidbit away for later.

It wasn't just her actions, _physically,_ she was different too. Her walk was something entirely new to him, and not just how she walked. He'd noticed before that she had never wanted to be the leader, content to just follow along and put her trust in the person ahead of her to get her where she needed to be.

This new Bonnie, even though she was still barely over five feet, had strides as long as his sometimes. She moved to the front and if you didn't keep up, oh well. She wasn't afraid to cut a path to wherever she was headed, armed with a polite 'excuse me', but not afraid to shove someone aside if they were foolish enough not to move.

What he really liked though, was her eventual warming and acceptance of him. It took a few months, but he soon noticed that she stopped jumping up every time he sat next to her. She stopped watching him out the corner of her eye (and not in the good way) as if she expected him to spring into action and attack her any second. She stopped hiding her pleased reactions to whatever corny joke he would tell, or whatever nice gesture he'd do for her. She had a brand new tough shell that he had to fight to get through, he felt like he was starting from scratch all over again.

No, wait. That wasn't exactly right. He felt like he was competing with something or someone that he couldn't see. He got the feeling that sometimes when he was talking to Bonnie that she wasn't talking to _him_. He found he had the best responses when he could pull her out of whatever daydream she had drifted in to, and remind her that she was with him. On the rare times that happened, her smile would be so wide and open that he had to catch his breath.

The biggest indication something was different came when Katherine of all people, mentioned Damon and Elena.

"…so Elena was all like, "Well Damon said it was okay" or some shit like that. I told her she was the dumbest chick alive if she believed him-" She was cut short by Caroline elbowing her in the side, and tilting her head in Bonnie's direction. He swore everyone held their breath, waiting for her reaction.

Bonnie had been engrossed in playing Mario Kart with Tyler and Matt, but had been half-heartedly participating in the conversation happening around her. Her only reaction had been a chuckle of amusement.

Now Kai would be the first to admit he doesn't always know when to stop and leave well enough alone, but something in him told him to not let this go. So he decided to test a theory, he slid down to sit next to Bonnie on the floor, "Trusting anything Damon deems okay is just asking to be pissed off later on down the road." He studied her face for even a flicker of the starry eyed look she normally got when Damon's name was mentioned.

No such look appeared this time. Bonnie merely snorted, "Right? Like, if he says go left, I'm definitely going right." She suddenly dropped the controller and jumped up cheering in victory. "I won! I won!" She did a little dance then stopped abruptly, "I gotta go pee, don't touch anything. I'll be right back." She danced her way to the bathroom while everyone sat in shock in Tyler's living room.

"What the fuck?"

"I wasn't the only one that saw that, right?

"Do you think it's because of the accident?"

"What, like she's got brain damage?"

"Yes. NO. I mean…maybe?"

The questions swirled about over Kai's head, but he was lost in his own world. What he had begun to suspect was finally confirmed. She was finally over that asshole.

Suddenly Luke's face appeared in his line of sight, "Stop it. Right now." Although his voice was stern, his eyes were soft.

"Stop what, little brother?" Kai felt the weight of every gaze in the room.

"Oh man, now is so not the best time." Matt was shaking his head slowly. "Give her time."

"He's waited bloody years!" Rebekah whisper-screamed.

"So one more won't kill him then." Matt's voice was firm. "Look, I'm saying this not just for Bonnie, but for you too. None of us want to see you get hurt."

"Who's getting hurt?" Bonnie slid back into her place on the floor.

"Kai is if he doesn't get a move on to go help dad." Liv threw up a Hail Mary, and Kai was tempted to just ignore it, but he knew Matt was right, now was not the time.

Bonnie pouted, "But I'm on a winning streak! You can't go, you're my good luck charm." Kai reached out to pull at a curl before letting it go to spring back into place. When Bonnie had showed up with much shorter hair, he'd nearly had a heart attack. Gone was the limp, over straightened hair, and in its place was a bouncy nest of curls that he wanted to run his fingers through so badly, he physically had to stop himself sometimes.

"Sorry, bon. Duty calls. I have faith you'll still be able to kick some ass after I'm gone." She beamed at him before turning back to start a new game. He quickly retrieved his keys and beat a hasty retreat. He needed to call Jo, she wasn't a neurosurgeon, but she'd be able to tell him if all the changes he'd noted were likely caused by the accident, or if Bonnie truly was starting to get back to her old self.

For the first time in a long time, he had hope.

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap! Hopefully you enjoyed that little dip into the past.


End file.
